


My Boss, My Weirdo

by sky_fish



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: Anxiety Attacks, Boss/Employee Relationship, Childhood Friends, Drinking, Jealousy, Light Angst, M/M, Scratching, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, apparent partial amnesia, dating at workplace, friends to strangers to lovers, onesided Matsumiya
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:01:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 75,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27921175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sky_fish/pseuds/sky_fish
Summary: After being separated for years, Sho and Nino get finally reunited. It could have been so perfect, but rather than being friends again, they now face each other as a boss and private secretary, and on top of that, Sho doesn't even seem to remember their childhood friendship. Nino is smashed. Will they be able to find back to their old dynamics despite the obstacles?
Relationships: Ninomiya Kazunari/Sakurai Sho
Comments: 3
Kudos: 27
Collections: Ninomiya Exchange





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [southview](https://archiveofourown.org/users/southview/gifts).



> Hey, everyone! I used the month of November this year to finally edit two of my old fics (Ninoexchange from 2019 and from 2020) so I can finally cross-post them here on my account. This time, I bring you my 2019 Ninoexchange fic, written for the dear southview!  
> Loosely inspired by the K-Drama "What's wrong with Secretary Kim?" (which I still need to finish watching someday).
> 
> On another note, I noticed that I completely forgot to reply to all the comments in the original exchange posting and I'm SO sorry about that! I was really out of it last year around the time of the exchange since I was grieving my cat's sudden death :( And now after 1,5 year, I feel it's strange to get back and reply to the comments after so long... however, I really really appreciated all of them and still do so THANK YOU to everyone who read and commented on the original posting in 2019! You're the best! And as always, thank you to my betas KittyKaty and jtaytt!<3

Nino liked being alone during lunch break. He usually didn't mind if any of his co-workers wanted to join him. However, the best lunch breaks were those during which he was all by himself so that after eating, he could take a bit time for himself to read a chapter or two of a good book, play some games on his mobile phone, or give his mother a call.

Although Nino usually preferred to stay inside, chances that someone would join him at his table in the cafeteria were high. So if he really wanted to be just by himself, Nino would go outside, to the park near the office building he worked in. Most of the time, he managed to occupy his favourite bench underneath a line of birch trees, from where he had a nice view over a large green meadow sprinkled with dots of various coloured spring flowers. Nino liked this view. He liked the calmness the greenery triggered in him. He liked flowers. And he liked the quietness in this park. It was miraculous, considering that it was located in the middle of a world metropolis, but it worked, and that was the most important. The solitude, the moment of calm before he had to get back to his – usually quite busy – job, was essential for someone like Nino.

He was completely fine with his job as a private secretary for the owner of a company, even if it had taken him some time to adjust to it at first. It was probably not what he originally wanted to pursue as a career, but by now he could say he was happy with what he was doing. Sure, it wasn't his dream job, but some things should be kept for enjoyment, as a hobby, anyway. Nino was not bitter about this, not anymore.

Thus, the young man didn't mind, when the alarm he set to get back to work on time, went off. He still had a few more minutes before he needed to be back at his desk and prepare for his boss's next meeting, so he hit the five minutes snooze button and took the time to finish the level he'd been playing, before pushing the device back in his suit's pocket and packing up his empty lunch box that was sitting on the bench right next to him.

It was then when something that he hadn't noticed before caught Nino's interest.

Nino frowned and reached his hand down to one leg of the bench, where he had seen something dark shining through the blades of green grass. He pulled the object up to have a better look at it. It was a medium-sized notebook, the cover was of an imitation leather material. There was no pattern on it, it was simply black, but the quality made it look kind of expensive.

Nino glanced around. Someone must have lost it here, previously. It possibly dropped from the side of the bench or out of a bag, without being noticed by its owner, but Nino had not seen anyone around before he got here for his lunch break, so he had no idea who it could belong to.

The young man dared to flip the notebook open to try and see if there was a name written on the inside of the cover or on the first page, but to his disappointment, there was nothing. He turned the book around to see if someone had written his name on the backside, but still, there was nothing. Nino frowned and decided to flip through a few pages to maybe find some valuable hints, like an address or a telephone number. He quickly found out, though, that this wasn't some kind of planner for noting down appointments, but rather some kind of diary or journal, filled with scribbled passages, appearing in different shapes, as if someone collected poems and short stories in it. It definitely caught the man's interest, but no, he wasn't here to read someone's secret journal, he just wanted to see if there was a name or a hint on whom it belonged to, so he could return it to its rightful owner.

The alarm went off again – Nino's signal, that now, he _really_ had to get up and go back to work. The young man wondered what to do with the journal in his hands. Again, he glanced around, but there was no other soul around other than a jogger with his dog in the distance, and time was pushing. Nino could just put it on top of the bench and leave it there, hoping that whoever was the owner of it might come back and pick it up later on, but judging from the view in the skies, clouds becoming darker and building up for a possible rain shower in the afternoon, it would be a waste to leave it here and let it get ruined by the water. So, Nino decided to bring the journal along and give it a proper check later on. Maybe, he would be able to find another clue in it.

\+ + +

It had been a normal, busy day at the headquarters of the Sakurai Group, owner of one of Japan's leading hotel chains. Everything had gone according to schedule, there had been no emergencies, at least nothing that an experienced team couldn't handle. The results of the meetings they held that day were all very positive for the company, and so, with their daily goals met and their boss happy, chances to leave on time were pretty high for everyone.

Of course, this meant that Nino had not had any time to dive deeper into his research about the journal he found during lunch break, which was now stored safely in his bag, but that was OK. Nino needed to be very focused on his job anyway, trying his best to keep the quality of work and make it easy and comfortable for his boss to take care of all the important business decisions he had to make.

"Good work, everybody, thank you for contributing to another successful day," the company president, a middle-aged man with grey-streaked hair, wearing a dark navy suit and a blue striped necktie, finally said, turning around to face the group of people trailing behind him with a content smile. "If there is nothing left to be done at your desks, I encourage you to leave for today and enjoy your evening."

The man let his look wander, making sure to make short eye contact with every single one of them like he always did. Everyone smiled back, feeling content about the conclusion of another successful day, and rewarded for their hard work. The president's gaze remaining last at Nino, who used to act as his personal secretary, and basically the boss' right hand.

"Ninomiya-kun?" the man then added, taking a step closer to his secretary. He carefully put his hand on Nino's forearm.

"Yes, President?" Nino asked, straightening his tired back a little more to show that he was still focused.

"Please follow me into my office, I need to tell you something important."

"Of course!" Nino replied but blinked, slightly confused.

"Everyone else, you may leave now, I wish you all a pleasant evening," their boss finished, smiling at this team one last time before he turned to enter his office.

Nino sent a confused look to his friend and colleague Satomi, who answered him with a big smile and made some gestures with her hands that the young man interpreted as something along the lines of "Maybe you'll get a bonus for your good work? Call me later!" Nino frowned, shook his head and returned a small insecure smile before catching up to follow his boss into his office after hastily waving his colleagues goodbye for the day.

Nino discretely closed the heavy door behind him and took a deep breath. He wondered, what this might be about. He was absolutely sure that he had already gone over everything important for today with his boss, he had prepared everything for tomorrow and had already briefed the company president about it, so in fact, there should be nothing left to be done for the day. Nino quickly glanced at the watch on his wrist. What was this about and would it take long?

"Are you in a hurry, Ninomiya-kun?" the company president asked, of course, nothing stayed unnoticed by the man.

"Ah, it's nothing, no worries," Nino replied, bowing slightly.

Actually, his best friend Aiba would probably already be waiting at home for a gaming session, as he had announced via LINE a few hours earlier, but Aiba was used to Nino getting home late or let's say, to irregular hours, as he had to stick to his boss' schedule rather to his own. By now, his friend long had a spare key to let himself into Nino's apartment when he ran late again, so it wasn't really a problem.

Right now, Nino rather worried about what might be up. He doubted, that he would just receive a random bonus, yearly pay raise had just happened at the beginning of this year, and he couldn't remember anything outstanding he had performed recently. His work had been decent and constant, just as it needed to be. Maybe, it was something completely different. Did he do something wrong, perhaps? Forget something important? Or was there a new secret project that his boss could only mention in discreet privacy without anyone else of the team listening to them? It happened before. However, Nino would only find out once he spoke to his boss.

Sakurai Shun was a respectable man. He was not only a prolific businessman; he was also a fairy tale-boss. He was friendly, polite, and very patient with not only his business partners, but also his employees, which earned him the biggest respect by the whole workforce of the Sakurai Group and related companies.

He had been especially patient with Nino when he had first started out in this job some years ago. Very lenient even, considering the fact that Nino had gone through a rough time of his life when he had started out as president Sakurai's right hand. Compared to his predecessor, Nino's father, Nino himself still had a lot to learn back then. But what the young man hadn't been able to learn from his father, before the man passed away, his boss taught him, diligently and with the warm understanding, that for the young man it was a job he still needed to get used to. 

Additionally, the job had not been something that the young man had initially to pursue as a career. No, it hadn't been easy for Nino in the beginning, definitely not, especially since everything he needed to do, made him think about his passed father, and grief accompanied him daily, making it hard to overcome the loss of his parent, but on the other side, Nino pushed through and learned that he was a quick learner and with his boss supporting him, he quickly figured things out.

"Please, take a seat," the man offered to Nino, smiling, gesturing towards the sitting area in the large office.

Nino bowed slightly once more and approached one of the sofas assembled around a large, glass made coffee table, while his boss joined him on the opposite side.

The whole office was large, no, huge. Well, it was the main office in this building, so this was probably no surprise, but still, after all those years working in the company, Nino found it impressive, intimidating even, sometimes. The design was rather simple and modern but decorated with some flower arrangements here and there, it looked very elegant. Farther in the back, close to the tall glass windows that revealed a breathtaking view onto the park lying next to the building, there was President Sakurai's working space. A huge desk with a computer and two screens, a stack of papers next to it, behind the desk, three shelves, neatly filled, but still not bursting, with folders wearing numbers but not giving away more details.

The large table, they both had settled around now, was actually used for welcoming guests, personal friends of the president, his wife, sometimes, or important clients he wanted to talk to in private and get to know better for a bit before escorting them to a meeting room for presentations and the like. It was a spot in the company, where interpersonal relationships were established and cultured. Nino sometimes accompanied his boss during such meetings, at least those with clients, sitting right beside him, offering tea or pastries. It was very rare though, that he was placed opposite of his boss.

There were already two cups of tea and a plate of cookies prepared – not by Nino, as the young man noticed, so his boss must have had some other secretary – Satomi, maybe - in the office prepare it for them. However, the longer Nino considered the situation, the more he suspected that something must be off. He frowned when a frightening thought passed his mind. He wasn't going to be fired, was he?! No, President Sakurai would never do that to him, at least not as long as his business was doing well. And it seemed to do pretty well, as far as Nino was informed.

Nino hastily brushed his hand through his slightly too long black fringe that was about to cover his eyes if he didn't part it in the middle to free his forehead. Oh, maybe, his boss just found that he needed a haircut? But then, President Sakurai had never once said anything about any of his employees' hairstyles... 

_Stop being silly, Nino, it must be something way more serious than your stupid hair!_ Nino caught himself from drifting into insignificant thoughts.

The young man swallowed, breathed in, breathed out, calmly, reached to loosen his necktie a little bit to ensure he would be able to continue breathing properly. Although Nino rarely lost his calm attitude when it came to work-related situations, now, his brain immediately started working at full blast, reviewing the most recent events and scanning them for any possible hints given by his boss. The consequences of a layoff started to branch in Nino's brain. What it would mean for his mother if he couldn't count with his current income any longer... Nino could feel his body react, and he hoped it didn't show too obviously. His fingers started fidgeting, so he folded them to keep himself from reaching up to his neck and start –

"Ninomiya-kun?" the middle-aged man on the opposite side of the coffee table asked in a gentle voice, pulling his secretary out of his spiral of thoughts. "Is everything OK?"

Nino startled, his fingers froze in their position, hands clenched so tightly that his grip revealed the white of his knuckles. Immediately, Nino untangled his fingers, brushed his hands against the sides of his trousers, cleared his throat and readjusted to sit up a bit straighter as he faced his boss.

"Ah, I am sorry, I was just a little distracted, wondering what all of this might be about...," Nino said, trying not to mumble.

"Please, have some tea. It's freshly brewed chamomile tea, good for calming nerves," his boss said, pointing at the cup standing in front of his employee, but the friendly gesture perhaps didn't really work as intended.

 _Do I need to have calm nerves to process the news?!_ Nino wondered, but tried his best not to freak out loud. He reached out his hand, thankful that it wasn't shaking as he picked up the cup of tea, and took a sip. The temperature had already cooled down a little so that the tea was still pleasantly warm but not hot enough to burn one's tongue, and the taste was light and somehow, the combination was indeed slightly calming. _That's it, breathe in, breathe out. Take a sip of tea. Everything will be okay._

"So, as I said, there is something important I wanted to talk to you about," president Sakurai started after he took a long sip from his own tea and placed the cup back on its small plate in front of him. Nino mirrored his motion, just in case he'd drop his own cup after finally receiving the news.

"This might come a bit surprising," his boss finally said, his voice calm, his face wearing a neutral expression when he darted his look at his subordinate. "But I wish you to listen to me carefully and consider my request."

 _What request, oh Gosh, spit it out already, am I getting fired? No, calm down, a request doesn't sound like firing, you don't request people to let themselves get fired, or do you? Maybe I'm getting relocated to another office? Oh, I hope it won't be overseas._ Nino's thoughts went wild again. _But why should he relocate you to another country, he knows your mother is here and you can't leave her. Right. He wouldn't do that to us. Calm down._ He cleared his throat once more and tried to focus, his hands slowly brushing up and down his thighs to soothe his nerves.

"Whatever it is, Boss, I'm all ears," Nino said out loud only this part, trying to overrule – or at least hide – all of his doubts.

"You must know that I do have a son, right?" his boss started, folding his hands in his lap and looking straight at Nino. His facial expression turned softer, and so did Nino's, immediately. "He's just a little older than you are. Maybe you remember how you two used to play in the gardens or in one of the many rooms of our estate, together... back then, when your father has still been working for me as my private secretary and your mother has been hospitalized for some years. Do you remember that time?"

Nino swallowed again, this time a bigger lump in his throat, as the memories suddenly washed over him. Of course, he remembered that time. He would always remember that time. It had been a strange time for a young boy, the days brighter than he ever deemed possible, distracted from all of his sorrows, and the nights darker than he was able to bear, filled with fear for his sick mother's life.

It was as if Nino could almost see himself, no, the ghost of a memory of himself, running through the summer gardens of the Sakurai family estate, following after their cheerful and confident son, his own legs short and weak, almost unable to catch up to the other boy, who had been laughing joyfully, before turning around and rushing back to Nino.

The young man took a deep breath, and all of a sudden, it was almost as if he could breathe in and smell the exotic mix of all the flowers spread over the Sakurai family estate, Japanese flowers as well as numerous plants imported from all kind of places from over the world, dotting the gardens in every imaginable colour possible. It was as if he could almost hear their voices, himself calling after the boy running in front of him, the boy telling him to catch up before he turned around and came back running for Nino, to reach out his hand at his friend _Sho-chan_ – so soft and warm – and help him, pull him with him, ready to show him a new adventure. Nino remembered everything, the sweet whispered promises from his precious childhood friend that he'll play with Nino again, tomorrow and the day after tomorrow and the day after, and that he would be there for him, forever. Nino chuckled, almost voicelessly. Oh those sweet promises of oblivious children, spoken with a feeling of full commitment but just as quickly forgotten...

Of course, Nino could also remember the painful feeling in his heart from back then. The voice of Nino's father at the end of the day, breaking through to his ears when dusk was about to settle over the world, calling him to go get home, but not before paying the daily visit to his sick mother. The sorrow caused by the fact that the woman has been ill and bound to a hospital bed for a long time, unable to take care of her son, although her words and tears assured her little boy over and over that there was nothing she'd like to do more if her body just let her. All of it had been hard to bear for a child that tried his best to show his mother a smile every day, and say some uplifting words that she'll soon be better, that she'll soon be home, as if trying to make them a good luck spell, as if trying to make them real. The nightmares that haunted the little boy in the dark as he dreamt about losing his mother, losing his family, losing his place to belong to.

Still, even if those had been hard times, it hadn't been completely unhappy times, either. While Nino's father had been taking care of the income of the family, working days and nights as much as he could for the big boss of the renowned Sakurai Group, Nino had been sent to the president's son and wife to play. He had never been alone, no, better than that, he had had a great companion. A great friend, for many years, until his mother finally recovered, and before time and circumstances had separated the two boys. Nino's heart warmed at the precious memories but clenched at the same time when he remembered how quickly they had been torn apart.

He breathed out.

His fingers found each other again and Nino forced them to fold and stay still.

"Of course, I remember. It's Sho-san, right?" the young secretary asked, trying to smile. He was not completely sure how to address the president's son in front of the man, settling on a rather neutral way. A soft smile formed on his lips, automatically.

"Yes, Sho," the company president nodded.

"How is he doing? It's been so long since I last saw him and we barely have time to talk about private matters here, so it's been ages since you mentioned him," Nino added, the warm feeling inside him subsiding slowly but surely, the closer his memory walked from his childhood days to where he was standing now.

As much as he and Sho had liked to play together as kids, as many good memories Nino had collected during that time, he couldn't keep this bittersweet feeling, about what happened afterwards, from spreading in his chest. They hadn't just been separated years ago, when it was decided that Sho would pursue his education from Junior High School level onwards at a prestigious boarding school overseas, also their contact had subsided almost immediately from that time on.

Nowadays, _Sho-chan_ was just a precious memory to Nino. He wondered how his childhood friend must have turned out. Had he grown tall? It wouldn't be too difficult to grow taller than Nino himself, still, he wondered about it. Had he become a handsome man, just like the genes of his family promised? He had not seen pictures of him in ages. It wasn't like president Sakurai was a man who didn't like to brag about his son, but instead of showing pictures of him, he rather used to tell about Sho's good grades or other academic achievements. If Sho still liked the same things as back then? Did he ever miss Nino the same way Nino missed his old friend, or… had he perhaps forgotten him completely?

"Actually, he's doing great," Nino's boss replied. "It's been a while since he came home. After graduating from university a couple of years ago, he'd been travelling around Europe to get to know different cultures and languages and collect some experience, but now, I'm happy to announce, that he's finally back home."

Nino's heart skipped a beat. Did he hear correctly?

"He... he is back in Japan?" he asked, his throat slightly dry.

His boss nodded, the smile on his lips growing broader, the laugh lines around his eyes showing. Still, the happy shine within the man's eyes, all of a sudden made him appear at least ten years younger. Nino couldn't help but mirror the gesture, not only because it was seldom to see his boss smile so genuinely – not with the usual friendly business smile he distributed among clients and business partners, but a _genuine_ smile – but also because he could feel how he himself became excited about this news, as well.

"He arrived just a few days ago, yes," President Sakurai replied, beaming from joy and excitement.

"That's great news, I'm so happy for you and your wife!" Nino finally said. His boss nodded at him, thankful.

"My wife is really over the moon from joy, you wouldn't believe it," Sakurai-san said, chuckling softly. Nino was convinced, she wasn't the only one in the family. Then, the man turned back to Nino, his expression turning a bit more serious again. "Anyway, while we were preparing at home for his return, these past few months, we also had to consider some changes here at work. With my son back, this also means, he will finally become part of his future heritage."

"He'll join the family business?" Nino assumed. Well, it wasn't a too surprising thought after all, but his brain was still busy catching up with the news, trying to figure out what consequences this change would bring for the company, as well as for himself.

"Exactly," his boss replied, pointing at Nino as if he was proud of the young man's conclusion. "That's why I need your skills as the excellent secretary you are now. How many years are you working for me now, Ninomiya-kun?"

Nino didn't need to think about that, he knew the answer right away. "I started learning from my father about five years ago, and I fully took over his duties -," when his father died, "Four years and two months ago."

President Sakurai nodded, a soft expression on his face. "And you've become splendid at your job, I might say. Definitely worthy of your father's legacy, and you know I always thought highly of him. I am very proud of you and your development and I am certain, your father would be, too."

"Thank you," Nino lowered his head.

A wave of different emotions was rolling over him. Pride, melancholy, a hint of grief. He swallowed and gave himself a moment to collect his feelings before looking back at his boss.

"So how can I be of help in this situation? Shall I prepare anything for your son joining the company? Would you like me to search for a suitable private secretary for him? I am sure our Human Resources department has quite a few applications incoming on a regular basis. I could start checking them for candidates and inviting people from tomorrow -," the young secretary started, ready to pull out his tablet and take respective notes, however, his boss simply lifted his hand and made him stop.

"Actually, Ninomiya-kun," he started, still smiling. "That's the favour I wanted to ask of you. I would appreciate if you, personally, could take over that duty, starting from next week."

Nino blinked. This time, he really doubted his hearing. "Excuse me?"

"I want you to take over the job as my son's private secretary," Nino's boss repeated. "I know, you are capable of this, and you are the only one I want to trust my son to."

"President, I... I feel honoured, really, but," Nino dared to speak up. He'd be lying if he said that his boss' request hadn't shocked him. "What will become of you, then? I am _your_ private secretary already and you know I cannot do both, it would be too much to balance, so who is going to take over -"

"I know," President Sakurai said, making a soothing gesture. "You've been my secretary for a long time now, and believe me, I am more than satisfied with your work and would love to keep you in your current position. However, I think you are more suited to become my son's secretary. I don't want anyone new for him, I want someone who is familiar with our business affairs, with how things are handled internally, I want someone who is able to make my son transition from being an educated world hopper to a responsible businessman with a sense for the family's enterprise. This is an essential job, and I want to entrust it to you, Ninomiya-kun."

Nino didn't know what to say, and so he stayed silent, which his boss probably interpreted as hesitation, so the man kept going.

"Of course, you'd also receive a bonus as compensation for your troubles, I know it's not easy to get used to someone completely new, learn new habits and everything, but if anyone is capable of this, I am sure, it's you. So, what do you think?"

Nino still looked at his boss in disbelief. He swallowed again and told himself to keep calm. He took a deep breath and released it again, slowly. His boss trusted him. He'd have to transfer to his boss' son – Sho-cha-, no... how would he have to properly address the young man then, Sakurai-san? Sakurai-san Junior? Vice-president Sakurai?! He would see _him_ again, after so many years, and even work together with him on a daily basis. _His Sho-chan._

"Ninomiya-kun?"

The young secretary could feel the turmoil roaring up in his chest, even if he tried his best to hide it. He lifted one of his hands and pretended to need to push his bangs out of his face, just in case he needed to hide a blush. He cleared his throat.

Well... what choice did Nino have? Sure, change was always a bit frightening, but he would readjust rather quickly, and apparently, he'd also get a bonus, which wasn't something to be ignored, considering his family situation. And, again, _Sho-chan_! 

Nino tried to pull his mind from the memory of his childhood friend, but for some reason, he couldn't. His heart was racing by now. He tried his best not to show it, but he was very much confused.

"Sir, I'm really moved by your words and thankful for your trust," Nino finally said, smiling. "You know, I'd do everything for you. So, if you wish I take over the position of your son's secretary, I will gladly do so."

The face of the company president lit up, the relief obvious. His smile was dazzling. The excitement over finally welcoming his son and knowing him in good hands, made him beam. Nino kept smiling. If this was how he could make himself useful the most for his boss, he'd do everything to make this work.

"So, when will I start my new duties, you said something about next week?" Nino asked. The sooner he could prepare for his new position, the better, after all.

"Exactly. I want Sho to start business from next Monday," the president said, "However, to make things a bit easier, I would like to invite you to join our dinner on Sunday, Ninomiya-kun. What do you think?"

Nino's eyes widened in surprise for a second, but he quickly composed himself again and nodded. "Sure, thank you very much for the invitation."

"It will be a good chance for you two to catch up a little bit," the older man said. "I know you were friends as children, and I hope you two will be able to be friends also as adults and support each other. It's important, to have friends in our business, Ninomiya-kun. Your father has been my loyal assistant, my best secretary, and my dear friend for so many years, I wish for my son being able to experience the same, so I beg you to take good care of him."

Again, Nino nodded. He swallowed once more, his chest tight from a strange mix of excitement, pride, and melancholy. "Of course. I'll do my best, Sir."

"Also, I would like to trust your judgement as head secretary, to choose one of your colleagues to fill up your position. I'd like to have someone become my personal secretary that you trust," the man added.

"Of course," Nino replied. "I'll think about it and let you know my recommendation as soon as possible."

\+ + +

The car ride home from the office to Nino's apartment wasn't long, but it was long enough for the young man to dive into his thoughts and mildly freak out about what he and his boss had just been talking about.

_Sho-chan's back. Since a few days. He hasn't tried to get in contact. Well, why should he. Surely, he forgot about the past. He doesn't even have my number._

Nino felt his neck itching. He enforced the grip of his hands around the steering wheel. The young man tried to breathe slowly, steadily. No, he would not give in the urge. This wasn't even something to stress about, or was it? He had to pull himself together! This wasn't bad news, no matter what. This, this was good news. Like so often, he had been panicking for nothing.

_Hopefully._

When Nino finally arrived home, he was welcomed by the familiar sounds of a gaming character fighting scenes and screams paired with epic background music, so the young man concluded that Aiba must have used his spare key to let himself in, already. He wanted to go greet his best friend, but before he could think about joining the fun, Nino needed a moment to calm down. On his way home, his thoughts had started to run wild, wilder than he appreciated, and his nerves – and he feared, also his skin – showed it.

He slipped out from his shoes and dropped his keys on the shoe cabinet in the entrance area before he shuffled through the corridor to the bathroom. In front of the mirror, Nino checked his appearance. His face looked normal – at least – but when he turned his head a little bit, he could see that the skin at the right side of his neck, starting behind his ear, going all the way down until it vanished underneath the collar of his white dress shirt, was reddened.

_It's only reddened, it could be worse. Everything is fine._

Nino loosened his necktie and collar and turned on the tab to let the cool water run over his hands before he reached into his trousers' pocket and pulled out a hand towel with a tiny embroidered Doraemon at the outer corner. He drenched it in the cool water and carefully pressed the towel against the reddened patch of skin. He breathed in and breathed out, and closed his eyes for a moment, trying to focus on how the coolness of the drenched towel took away the itching. It worked. Good.

After washing his face, Nino moved to his small but comfortable bedroom to get changed. His suit and dress shirt followed his necktie as he continued to get out of this uncomfortable day clothes. He draped his working clothes over the backrest of his reading chair in one corner of the room and pulled a pair of comfortable sweatpants and a simple band shirt from under his pillow.

He ruffled through his hair and casually brushed it back, so it stayed out of his sight for a bit, fisted his hands and sat down on top of his bed, his legs folded and his arms leisurely lying on top of his knees. He still felt a little uneasy, his heart beating quicker than usual, his hands fidgety. Well, he wasn't too surprised by his body's reaction to this stirring news, but he wanted to take and digest them, like any normal person. Then, he loosened his fists and brought his hands in front of his belly, pressing the fingertips together and forming a triangular shape. His eyes were closed, and he focused on breathing.

_Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out._

_Everything will be OK._

_Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out._

After a few minutes, the young man released a last heavy breath and opened his eyes again, and with that, Nino already felt way better than before.

Just a moment later, Nino finally entered the living room, where – as expected – he found his best friend, Aiba Masaki, already settled on the fluffy carpet in front of the couch, a gaming controller in his hands and a six-pack of canned beer prepared on the coffee table, next to a variety of small packages of snacks from the conbini around the corner of Nino's apartment.

"Yo, welcome back!" Aiba simply said and it was enough to make Nino smile.

His friend laid his head back, so he could see Nino enter, his reddish-brown coloured bangs falling back. A potato crisp was hanging from the corner of his curled up lips, but even with snacks in his mouth, Aiba's smile was dazzling like always. The gentle look in his small eyes and the broad smile was a mood lifter and calming at the same time, no matter where, when, or in which situation. Nino also felt much more relaxed now, knowing that his best friend was here with him.

"Hey," Nino replied with a smile as he settled on the couch right behind Aiba, folding his legs up – after he poked Aiba's shoulder with his big toe – and reaching for a fluffy cushion. He hugged it close and dropped back, all relaxed.

Meanwhile, Aiba had paused his game, reached for a can of Sapporo beer and turned around to hand it to his friend. When his brown eyes met Nino's, he raised his eyebrows. Aiba's gaze quickly brushed Nino's neck. Nino felt a little exposed but didn't say anything. He didn't even try to hide anything from his best friend anymore.

"Everything alright?" Aiba asked.

"No worries, I'm OK," Nino said with a smile, nodded at the can in his hands, thankfully, opened it and took the first sip – always the best sip – from the beer his friend had brought along. Then, he gestured to the TV screen in front of them. "Didn't want to disturb your battle, please keep going!"

"Do you want to take over?" Aiba asked, grinning, as he offered the gaming controller to the other man, but Nino shook his head.

"For now, I just want to watch. Is it a new test level?" the man asked, nodding towards the screen again.

His friend nodded and started explaining a few things, what had changed since the last time he had brought a demo of the new fantasy RPG of the small company he was working for as a character designer and game tester, which parts of the characters' designs had been his idea, and so on. Aiba resumed playing while he talked, the volume turned a bit lower so Nino could hear him speaking properly. The battle between a female soldier wearing a light blue, flowing gown and long blonde hair and another person that looked like a dark elf in a green long dress, continued on screen. They were both holding daggers, which looked like twin blades, even if the embedded stones were coloured differently.

"Let me guess," Nino said between two sips of beer, "Those two are actually sisters."

Aiba sighed, pausing his game again. "I guess we gave it away too easily, didn't we? Is it the daggers?"

"That, and the fact that they have almost the exact same hairstyle, the only difference, one in blonde, the other in black," Nino added.

"I thought so," his friend nodded, pouting slightly, but immediately reached for a pen and notebook lying next to him on the floor, to take some notes. "Did you notice anything else?"

"That one movement just after the blonde women lowers her arm, isn't looking smooth enough, if you want me to be nit-picky," the other man replied. "Also, just a few seconds ago, it looked like one of the daggers vanished, which isn't possible from this angle. Maybe it's caused by a lag... you should fix that, too. Besides that, I need to see the rest to judge," Nino grinned.

"Thank you!" Aiba beamed, scribbling down everything Nino had just said. "Seriously, my colleagues already tell me to hire you for our team, you still won't consider? I know you'd love this job and you'd be _so good_ at it!"

"Thank you, I know you find my eye for details helpful," Nino chuckled as he heard the offer by his friend. It wasn't the first time. "But you also know, that I can't just switch jobs."

"If it's the salary, it's really not that bad, believe me!" Aiba smirked and took another big sip from his can of beer, even if he already knew that Nino would decline. He still tried, once in a while.

Nino and Aiba met and became best friends during college some years ago when they both enrolled to become game designers. In the end, only Aiba managed to graduate properly and land a job in this field, since for the other man, the journey to his dream job was interrupted by some urgent family business – his father falling sick – and so, in the end, things played out differently for Nino.

His father, who had been the private secretary for Sakurai Shun for years, had wished his son to take over his job, even if he knew Nino might not want to. He actually even let him choose how he'd decide, and Nino appreciated that. But after talking things over with his family, and finding out that his father had once taken a loan from the Sakurai Group to be able to pay the hospital bills for Nino's mother as she has been sick for some years during Nino's childhood, the financial conditions made the decision for the young man.

The job as private secretary for the company president of one of the biggest and most successful hotel chains in East Asia paid very well, and president Sakurai – after Nino's father had declined to take it as a charity – had agreed on special conditions on paying back the loan when working with the company. This counted for Nino's father and was also continued for him. So, working as his secretary for a certain amount of years would help pay off the loan much faster than any other job would enable Nino to do so.

"But it's surely not as well paid as my current one," Nino smirked, trying to play it cool. It wasn't like he wanted to brag, but... "You know how well the Sakurai Group is doing at the moment and let me tell you, it reflects on the salaries. Also, you know that my family is indebted to them. Not just regarding money... it's also like I'm being morally indebted to the company."

Aiba let his head roll in his neck to look back at his friend again. "I know the story, Nino, I know, it's all about family pride stuff, right?"

"Not only pride... well, I guess you could name it like that, but seriously, it's important to me to keep this job, at least for a few more years. It might not be my dream job, but it's a good one. It's not like I hate it," Nino shrugged.

It was actually quite OK. He was good at it. His father had prepared him well before his death. He liked President Sakurai, he had always treated Nino well, and Nino did not mind that much being indebted to his family, like this. And especially now that his boss had asked him for such a favour like taking care of his son, how could Nino think about quitting? This was a big thing.

The young man felt his heart beating a little bit faster again at the thought of Sho coming back. His brain did not seem to have processed the news properly yet, as he hasn't completely banished it from his thoughts, no matter how hard he tried. It truly made him nervous. If he would be able to perform his work under Sho just as good as he was doing under his father? If he would even be able to work _under_ Sho? Somehow, it was a bit hard for Nino to imagine. As kids, they had been playmates, equals, despite their families' different status, but now, their relationship would be of a completely different dynamic...

Nino tried to guide his thoughts back into a more general direction. He didn't want to think too much about this, for now. Back to his work, to his tasks. He didn't mind them much. He was actually pretty good in a lot of things, like organising stuff, keeping a good overview of things. His eye for detail, as he had claimed to have earlier, really came in handy in his current job, too. Sometimes, it was the small things that could make or break a situation, be it a wrong number in a report, or being 10 minutes late for a meeting and upsetting a potential business partner versus being on time and satisfying all parties involved with professional behaviour.

Still, this did not change the fact that it just wasn't what Nino actually wanted for his life. But this was complaining on a higher level, he knew it, and he didn't want to be too nit-picky. Things could be much worse.

For now, it was enough for him to casually see glimpses of the world he had been striving for during his teens, and he was always grateful when Aiba came by with a new product he was working on, to show it to his best friend and ask for advice. It gave Nino the sense of being part of it, even if he couldn't _really_ be, and sometimes, his tips had been relevant enough to put his name into the special credits and get himself a free copy of the finished game to add to his small but fine collection. That alone was precious to Nino and made him proud.

"I know. And I know no matter which job you'd take over, you'd be awesome," his friend smiled. "I do not doubt your skills as a private secretary, Nino, I just moan the loss of an aspiring genius game designer."

Nino chuckled and dived a bit lower to hide behind the fluffy pillow in his arms. "Stop it, it's not like I ever really worked in that field."

"But you were _so close_ ," Aiba showed him a pinch of his thumb and forefinger and tilted his head. "And you enjoyed the internship at our company, didn't you?"

Nino nodded. That's how far he had gone back then. Nino couldn't help but release a small sigh. Yes, he liked revisiting the memories of him and Aiba taking that internship, even if back then the company was even smaller and they had to do lots of not so interesting chores that were not really related to game designing or programming, like brewing coffee, running errands, sorting paperwork, but well, those chores weren't so different from what Nino still had to do at work, sometimes. Further, there had been times when they had been allowed to join the creation process, even encouraged to try some things, and those very moments had been worth all the other trouble.

"You know, our door is always open for you," Aiba said, encouraging. "Just in case you get sick of your job, one day."

"Thanks, I appreciate that," Nino returned the smile.

He was happy for his friend that at least one of them landed their dream job, and he was glad that his friend had found a great place that he enjoyed working at. And who knew, maybe, one day, when Nino had finished paying off the loan, he could consider going back to college and finish his degree.

First, he still would need to save up some more money so he could continue supporting his mother. Ever since her illness during Nino's childhood, the woman was bound to a wheelchair, and after the loss of her husband some years ago, she wasn't doing so great. It had become impossible for Nino to take care of her all by himself, especially with his time-consuming job and the responsibility to earn the money not only for his mother and himself to live on, but also to pay back the loan his father had taken with the Sakurai group.

Thankfully, President Sakurai held connections throughout all possible fields of business in the country, so he was able to help Nino find a good place for his mother where she could live and be taken care of by specially trained caregivers, so he could live and work without needing to worry about the woman non-stop. Of course, he visited her quite often, every other day, and they were often talking over the phone. The woman was doing well, regarding the general situation. The most important was that she wasn't alone all day long. However, even with the special conditions, Sakurai Shun had negotiated for the Ninomiya family, the living circumstances of Nino's mother also added to the young man's bills, so he was glad he had a well-paying job.

"I'm still not convinced that everything is OK," Aiba, who had meanwhile returned to his game again, suddenly said.

"What?" Nino pulled himself out of his thoughts, trying to focus on his friend.

"You look... distracted. Has something happened at work?" Aiba sounded a bit worried.

Nino sighed. Of course, he couldn't hide anything from his best friend. He probably even noticed that Nino had not come to greet him right away after he entered his apartment, but retreated to his room first for a while. It was Nino's way of coping with stressful situations and to lessen the symptoms of his condition, something he had learned from a therapist that he had started visiting years ago as a teenager, and had continued on during when his family situation had become even more complicated, with his father's approaching death. It was simple things, like taking a few minutes for himself, breathing techniques, maybe some five to ten minutes meditations. It helped, mostly, and by now, Nino only had to go to a check-up to his therapist once in a few months, or if he felt the urgent need to talk to someone, although that part was mainly covered by talking to his best friend, just like he'd be doing soon.

Wondering, how to approach the topic in the best way, Nino let his glance wander around the living room. Besides the couch, the coffee table and the TV-set, there was also a desk placed at one side of the room, next to an almost completely filled bookshelf. On the wall above the desk, there was a pinboard hanging, which was filled with photographs, one of Nino accompanying Aiba to his college graduation ceremony, an old wedding photograph of his parents, a family portrait from Nino's high school graduation, and of course a picture of his late father.

And then, there, in the lower right corner, there was a picture of Nino, perhaps 10 years old, pushing his mother in her new wheelchair together with his father, trying his best to stay composed and smile sincerely, despite being desperate and worried about her. Next to him, there was another boy around Nino's age, wearing a chic suit and a red coloured bow tie. His dark hair was perfectly styled, his white teeth shining at the camera, his expression strong, and Nino also remembered the boy's supportive grip on his shoulder. Back then, Nino wouldn't have known what he would have done if he hadn't had his childhood best friend. He wouldn't have known if he was able to be as brave in front of his mother, as he appeared to be in the picture.

"You see... it seems like Sho-chan is back in Japan," Nino finally said in a low voice before he cleared his throat and guided his gaze back to his friend.

"Sho-chan?" Aiba asked, now fully turning around to face his friend. "Wait, you mean _that_ Sho-chan?!" The gaming character Aiba had been playing released a painful scream and died, but for the moment, the young man didn't care, still focused on Nino. "Like in _your best friend from childhood and first crush Sho-chan_?!"

"Stop calling him my first crush!" Nino demanded, lifting his pillow and pushing it playfully into his best friend's face.

"Oh come on, Nino, the way you use to talk about that boy -," Aiba's shining eyes darted over to the pinboard on Nino's wall for a second. He smirked.

"But that's it, he was just a boy. I was a boy. That's it," Nino replied, chuckling.

"I'm still convinced you had a crush on him," Aiba's smirk still didn't go away. "Correction, that you still _do_ have a crush on him."

"And I already told you, that's not true!" Nino protested immediately. "Of course not, it's nothing, we were just childhood friends and we haven't seen each other in like what... 10 years, at least," _breathe in, breath out,_ "I bet, he doesn't even remember me anymore."

"Hah... we'll see," Aiba narrowed his eyes. "So, now he's back and let me guess he'll be working in his father's company too, right?"

"Exactly," Nino nodded. But that wasn't all. He placed his pillow back on top of his folded legs. "Also, President Sakurai asked me to become his son's private secretary." 

Nino could see Aiba's eyes widen in excitement and his lips parting, so he decided to get out everything before his friend could interrupt him. He hoped, the sudden warmness in his cheeks didn't give away too much of his excitement. 

"And... I'm invited to dinner on Sunday so we can get to know each other again a bit better..."

"Oh wow!" Aiba cooed. "That's amazing! That's your chance to win over his heart!"

The fluffy cushion landed once more in Aiba's face.

"Don't overdo it!" Nino demanded, embarrassed. "I never said I want to do that!"

Aiba struggled his face free, pushing the pillow back at his friend.

"But Nino, look, just imagine it! The young prestigious company heir finally returns to his home country and fate reunites him with his childhood friend," the man flourished one of his hands, motioning towards the photograph on Nino's pinboard once more. "They are supposed to work together, but things are more complicated when they realize they both have feelings for each other," he dramatically clenched the T-shirt fabric above his heart.

"Shut up, Aiba!" Nino mumbled.

"No, seriously, this sounds like one of those cheesy dramas on TV, but a good one!" Aiba said, but even he couldn't hold it together anymore now, as he broke into chuckling in between, losing the last bit of his credibility.

"This is going to be a business-only relationship!" Nino tried to clarify, rolling his eyes at his best friend's ridiculous behaviour.

"You can't know that," Aiba replied, wiggling his eyebrows, as he tried to find back his composure but failed and instead made a silly kissing face. "Maybe, he misses you too–"

"Stop nagging me," Nino chuckled, crossing his arms over the fluffy pillow, pretending to be upset. "And just theoretically speaking, of course, besides everything I already said – that he was _never_ my crush, and that this is going to be a _business only relationship_ \- we don't even know if he's single if he's even interested in men, so stop assuming things, your imagination is carrying you away."

"But it sounds so gooood.... secret love sprouting between the company heir and his private secretary," Aiba repeated, this time whispered, and this was how Nino's pillow once more moved over to Aiba, who caught it, laughing, and didn't give it back this time, just to be safe.

"You're interpreting too much into this!"

"Let's see how you'll react when you meet him again at that family dinner," Aiba wiggled his eyebrows again. "I bet he's become a very handsome man. You know that I need pictures of him, right? That one over there is definitely outdated."

"I won't send you stalker pictures, forget it," Nino chuckled.

Aiba broke into whining. "Oh come on, Nino, please! I need to know who's that guy who stole little Nino-chan's heart and took it to Europe with him years ago -"

"I told you it's _nothing like that_!"

"All your stories about your childhood sound differently, and why else should you have kept exactly that one old photograph of you two as young boys? I know, there's a ton of other pictures with you and your parents together, so don't try selling this argument to me. You picked _that_ picture on purpose, because of _him_! Also, why has no relationship ever worked out for you so far?"

"Not that this is of any concern to you, but," Nino blushed, his feeling of being uncomfortable talking to his friend about such a topic gradually reaching its peak. "Maybe I was busy with my job and my parents' situations?"

"Yeah, true, that might be a reason, sure," Aiba tilted his head, perceptively. "But think about it, isn't it possible that you've been waiting for him, sort of?"

"You are definitely over-romanticizing this," Nino rolled his eyes.

"Oh, _I_ am not the romantic one here," Aiba chuckled as he finally stood up from his spot on the carpet and now settled on the couch next to his friend, not leaving his eyes off him.

Fine, Nino would pretend to play along for now. "Still, we don't even know if -"

"Then find it out!" Aiba nudged his friend's side.

"But we'll be working together!"

"Don't pretend to be naive, you wouldn't be the first boss-secretary couple in world's history, Nino," Aiba nudged him again.

Nino slightly pushed back. "But I don't -"

"Stop it!" Aiba demanded, his voice suddenly sounding extra serious. "No more lies! I can read you like an open book, anyway. It might be true that your Sho-chan was your childhood best friend, but right now, _I_ am your best friend, and I know you better than you know yourself."

There was a pause in which Nino just looked at his friend. Then, he leant forward to reach for Aiba's abandoned gaming controller on top of the coffee table to restart the demo game and try it himself so he could probably provide Aiba with a bit more feedback regarding the gameplay.

"Aren't you forcing this a little bit too much?" Nino finally replied, sending a mix of a smirk and a desperate look at his best friend.

"You know what I'm talking about, you just don't admit it," Aiba nodded, folding his arms on top of the fluffy cushion. He grinned. "Well, we'll see how things are after you met him. I can't wait for your report about the family dinner. And please, please try to get a picture! You just need to ask him to take a selfie together with you, for good old time's sake or for capturing the start of your work relationship or something like that."

Nino just sighed, giving up, and tried to focus on the game in front of him. Thankfully, Aiba let go of the conversation too and instead watched Nino playing, getting his pen and notebook ready again.

Seeing Aiba holding his notebook, Nino suddenly remembered the journal he had found during lunch break today. He hadn't had time yet to check it out more thoroughly, but he would do so later on before going to bed. He needed to find the owner of it, after all. But for now, it was time to go beat up some dark elves for Aiba.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Sunday afternoon had come faster than expected, and so did the announced Sakurai family dinner, Nino was invited to. Saying, he was nervous about meeting Sho again, was an understatement, however, Nino managed to have his condition under control better than he expected. Breathing exercises helped, as always, and so did Aiba's presence who had come by to help Nino choose a proper outfit for the event, and soothe his nerves. 

Thankfully, he had stopped nagging Nino about his crush-or-no-crush on his old childhood friend, and instead resumed to full force friend support, so Nino felt loved and respected and as if he could conquer the world. That was Aiba's magic, and exactly what he needed this evening.

Together, they finally managed to choose a suit that fitted Nino's figure exceptionally well, they picked the perfect necktie to match it, and Aiba even convinced his friend to let him style his hair a bit differently from usual. He even had brought a hair iron that he had borrowed from his sister, to add just a hint of waves to the edges of Nino's long bangs. Nino felt a little bit insecure about it, wondering if they weren't overdoing it, but Aiba said it looked good, so Nino chose to believe him and hope that Sho would think so, too.

The young man took the company car that he was allowed to also use for private purposes, to drive to the Sakurai's estate. He would be able to find his way there with his eyes closed, as he often came here to pick up his boss and drive to business events together with him. It's been a while, though, since Nino had come here as a guest of the household, and it felt very different.

Just getting closer to the quite large, western-styled mansion, which was still surrounded with the wide green gardens from Nino's precious childhood memories, felt a bit intimidating today, especially when Nino considered what was coming up. The crunching gravel underneath the car's tires interrupting the calming music Nino had on, was already enough to disturb the relaxing effect.

Nino's heart rate increased, when he reluctantly parked his silver car right next to a bright red Ferrari, unable to deny that he was slightly impressed by it, although usually, he wasn't even that much interested in cars. But since this wasn't his boss' nor his wife's car, Nino could just assume that it must be their son's – Sho's. When Nino got out of his car, he dared to take a closer look at the Ferrari. He swallowed. Bold. Conspicuous. Luxurious. He couldn't help but wonder. There were things being told about drivers of swanky cars. Would those things apply to Sho as well?

After a short while, Nino stepped back again and started to walk up the short path from the parking lot to the Sakurai's mansion's intimidating entrance.

Once he had rung the doorbell, Mrs Sakurai, who was always happy to see him, welcomed Nino personally, immediately waving him inside. Her matt ruby coloured lips drew apart into a warm smile and small wrinkles around her eyes appeared, showing sincere joy over the young man's visit. The woman was in her mid-fifties already, but nobody would have guessed that, as she was still looking very young for her age. Her elegant long dark hair was loosely pulled back into a low dot, a simple but beautiful big hairpin holding the strands in place. She was wearing a long-sleeved dark dress with big flowery print on it, which flattered her slim figure.

"Good evening, Sakurai-san," Nino smiled at the woman after he had bowed slightly to greet her. "Thank you very much for the kind invitation."

"Ninomiya-kun, it's always my pleasure to see you," Mrs Sakurai chirped in a cheerful voice.

She was truly a gorgeous woman, not only well-mannered and friendly but also beautiful, the perfect match for a great man like Sakurai Shun. Sometimes, when Nino drove over to pick up his boss and had to wait for him for some reason, the nice woman would invite him in for a cup of tea and a little chat, and the young man always enjoyed it. So, Nino tried to smile back as naturally as possible, but if he was being completely honest, his thoughts were already running wild, and of course, it was all about Sho. If their son had turned out only half as good looking as his parents, he must be the crush of half of Europe.

The Sakurais' butler, Mr Koizumi, who was standing right next to the woman, offered to take Nino's jacket and brought it to the cloakroom while Nino slipped out of his shoes and into some guest slippers that were provided at the entrance area. Afterwards, although Nino clearly knew the way, he was guided through the corridors of the house into the dining area of the estate by Mrs Sakurai and her butler.

The house looked just as much Western-styled on the inside as on the outside, with open rooms that blended into each other, high ceilings and European furniture. The hallway was decorated with two large pots of beautiful flower arrangements, and there were a few paintings from not so famous artists hanging on the warm, creme-coloured walls. Anyone who entered the Sakurai family's home could clearly see that they weren't doing bad, financially. Still, they had not overdone it, which was something that Nino especially liked about them. Although they had the money, they didn't eat from golden plates, and they still acted like normal people, treating others with respect and civility.

The still empty dining room was big and usually very bright, flooded with natural light during the day, as President Sakurai's propensity to large glass windows also ran through his personal style of living. The dining area resembled more a winter garden than a simple room, with even the ceiling solely made of glass. There were light constructions hung up in the corners and along the long side of the room, which reminded on lanterns and their glow provided a pleasant amount of light, blending in well with the now slowly settling darkness outside. Tall green indoor plants towered in the corners of the room, emphasizing the natural atmosphere of the place. The table was already set for what probably would be a fancy dinner, judging from the nice smell that filled the house. Candles were lit and a basket filled with freshly baked bread was already placed in the middle of the table. 

With a glance, Nino quickly counted the place settings and frowned. There were five of them. This must be for Mr and Mrs Sakurai, their son Sho, Nino... and one more person? At least, Nino knew that usually, Mr Koizumi would not join dinner, but serve the meal and have some for himself in the kitchen. So, whom did the Sakurai family invite in addition?

Nino didn't get the chance to worry further about the number of place settings, when Mrs Sakurai came back to stand right next to him, two flutes of champagne in her hands that she had taken from the tray Mr Koizumi was carrying now.

"Ninomiya-kun, let's toast," the woman said cheerfully, handing him one of the glasses.

"It's my pleasure," Nino replied, taking the champagne from the elegant lady, before he added in a low voice, "But only one glass of champagne, I still need to drive home by car."

"Of course, of course," Mrs Sakurai cheered, lifting her drink to clink glasses with her guest. "Responsible like always, Ninomiya-kun, I really appreciate that. And no worries, we have lots of delicious non-alcoholic drinks here too."

"Thank you very much, Sakurai-san."

"Tell me, how is your dear mother doing?" the woman asked, reaching her hand to touch Nino's elbow in a comforting way.

She knew well about his family situation, and was even in contact with his mother once in a while but, of course, Nino was the first source of information when it came to her.

"Thank you, it seems she's doing fine, lately. Her body has become a bit stronger recently, so sometimes, she can even walk a few steps," Nino reported the latest improvements of his mother's condition with a smile.

The illness the woman had experienced in the past had taken its tolls on her, eating on her overall physical condition, taking away all the strength, especially in her legs, and losing Nino's father over four years ago had not been helpful. However, the long year physiotherapy seemed to finally work, now that she was slowly overcoming her husband's death and gathering courage for the future. After all, she still wanted to see her beloved son grow up into a fine man, wanted to spend time with him without being too much of a burden – her words, not Nino's – and so, she gave her best on recovering.

"This is such good news," Mrs Sakurai said, releasing a relieved sigh and putting her hand over her heart. She smiled, sincerely. "I'd love to welcome the two of your someday for a chat with cake and tea, what do you think?"

"I will tell her, and I am sure, she'd be very happy to come to visit, thank you," the young man nodded.

The two of them were then distracted by two male voices that seemed to approach the winter garden, coming from the mansion's living room. One voice, Nino recognized immediately – the one of his boss – but the other did not sound as familiar. Nino held his breath for a moment, his heart starting to beat heavily in his chest.

_It must be Sho._

And it was.

Even though definitely grown up now, Nino recognised the young man entering the dining area behind Mr Sakurai, immediately. The young man might not have grown as tall as Nino almost had expected, but he must be a bit taller than Nino. He was slim, but not too slim, well built, even, the dark grey suit fitting his body perfectly. His hair was pitch black, cut short at the sides and his longer bangs styled back in a slight quiff, revealing a beautiful forehead and prominent eyebrows in a shape that surely could change from a friendly expression to sheer anger, if the son inherited the same repertoire of emotions as his father – even if Nino had to admit it's been a while since President Sakurai had shown anger towards anyone at work. The young man's big eyes looked calm, his high cheekbones and defined jawline made his face look slim, but his lips were plump and red, and so beautiful... Nino swallowed, his heart was beating, excitedly. The young boy from his memory had become an even more attractive man, more than he had ever expected.

When President Sakurai guided his son's attention towards Nino, Sho slightly turned his head and when his beautiful dark brown eyes met Nino's, those breathtaking lips parted into a wonderful, friendly smile. A _Sho-chan_ -smile, wide and dazzling, showing his perfectly white teeth and causing his whole face to _smile_ , right up to the corners of his eyes.

Nino quickly shook his head. He had to get rid of that habit of calling him _Sho-chan_ , even if just in his head, as quickly as possible. If they would be working together, he couldn't call him by his childhood nickname, that was impossible! Nino cleared his throat and straightened his back a little bit, remembered himself to smile, but he just couldn't get himself to take a step closer towards his old friend, his feet were like stuck in cement.

It was Sho then, who came closer, his hand already reached out for a handshake. OK, so the young man was aiming for a European style greeting, Nino concluded. He briefly brushed the palm of his hand against the fabric of his trousers, just to make sure it wasn't sweaty, and mirroring Sho's smile he reluctantly started to lift his hand, too. Nino tried to swallow the lump in his throat. He needed to make this look casual as if it was nothing, but oh Gosh, he was so nervous, this was everything but nothing! Still, for a second, he noted the absence of itching, pleased. Well, this might be stressful for his heart, but it seemed to be positive stress and nothing to worry about. This was just a long-held dream coming finally true - meeting Sho again after those many years.

Their hands connected and Nino's heart skipped a beat. The young man suddenly became strangely aware of how dry his lips felt, how dry his throat felt. He hoped that his hand wasn't shaking.

 _Say something!_ Nino tried to encourage himself, but the only thing he managed to produce was a small, insignificant, "Uhm. Hello."

"Good evening, it's nice to meet you, we're going to work together, right?" the man, standing now right in front of Nino, said. Their hands were still connected and his smile was still dazzling.

Nino frowned slightly. Something about Sho's greeting felt wrong. Did he not –

"My name is Sakurai Sho, I am looking forward to working together with you." 

Something was _definitely_ off. 

Their hands disconnected, and while Sho brought his now empty hand up to his jacket as if he wanted to adjust it a little bit, Nino's hand dropped to his side, without any strength left in it. The president's son slightly tilted his head, a small line appearing between his eyebrows.

"I'm sorry, my father told me but I fear, I forgot, what was your name... Ichinomiya-san?"

The lump in Nino's throat stayed.

"It's Ninomiya. Sho, I already told you, didn't I?" Sho's father said, releasing something between a slightly nervous and amused chuckle. "Ninomiya Kazunari. Did you really forget about him?"

Nino's world scattered. His ears twitched slightly. His neck started feeling warm, and slowly, it also started prickling. 

_No. No, no, no, not now! Pull yourself together!_ Nino stressed himself. 

He clenched his hands, one around the stem of the champagne flute he still hadn't emptied – but did so now – and the other hidden in his trousers’ pocket, pressing against his thigh. He tried to breathe in and out slowly, tried to get back the control over the situation.

It would be fine. Honestly, what had he even expected? It had been over ten years that he and Sho had parted ways. Considering how much people could change within such a time span, they basically didn't know each other anymore. It wasn't _such_ a big deal if Sho forgot his name, right?

But it was, and the worst part was that it wasn't everything.

As if it wasn't enough that _his Sho-chan_ apparently had completely forgotten about him, Nino's shock was doubled when another person entered the room, behind Sho and his father. She looked familiar, a beautiful young woman who immediately walked up to Sho, smiling at him apologetically, saying she took a little longer in the bathroom. The young woman linked her arm with his. She was wearing a stunning aquamarine blue dress, its border lined with lace and barely covering her knees. Her long dark brown curly hair was done up beautifully at one side. She looked like a princess out of a Disney movie.

Her eyes were cat-like, her face flawless and her smile was one of an angel’s. Nino's own smile had vanished immediately, as he realised that any straight young man would be smitten by her beauty and, of course, _of course_ , Sho would not be any different, would he? And, _of course_ , he would bring his _girlfriend_ to a family dinner.

Finally, Nino recognized the young lady as Kitagawa Keiko, the daughter of one of the Sakurais' most important business partners within Japan, but this did not improve the situation. If even, it only added the information that both families were powerful and that a connection between their offsprings would probably not be unwelcome by both of their parents. Nino didn't know if the two had only hooked up recently since Sho was back in Japan, or if they had been dating for years already without his knowing – a quick briefing of his memory showed Nino that he had never seen the young woman with another man. Or could it be that the two were already married?! No, Nino would have heard about that from President Sakurai, he probably would have been invited to the wedding, so that couldn't be it. 

When Keiko's eyes caught Nino's, she greeted him with a polite smile. "Nice to meet you again, Ninomiya-san, I hope you're doing well."

"Yes, thank you, Kitagawa-san," Nino said, forcing himself to smile again. "I hope everything is fine for you too."

She smiled, nodding.

 _Well, with Sho by her side, what would she be missing?_ Nino's brain threw in. He tried to ignore the thought.

"So you two know each other?" Sho asked, raising his eyebrows at the girl standing beside him.

"We had the pleasure to meet at a few business events in the past," Keiko explained.

Nino just managed to nod briefly, murmuring his confirmation.

Suddenly, the young woman looked at him, slightly concerned. 

"I'm really sorry but... are you really OK?" she asked, lifting one of her hands up to her neck. "It looks like you're a little red up there."

"Ah," Nino chuckled, and he was so tempted to lift his hand too and cover the spot the young woman had just pointed out, but he knew, if he touched it, it would just become worse. "It's just a small allergic reaction, I suppose, nothing to worry about," he told his usual white lie with a forced smile. 

_Please don't mention it again,_ he thought desperately, as he tried hard not to think of the slowly spreading rash and especially the urge to _scratch_ his irritated skin that came with it. _Damned!_ He had everything under control so well and now this...

Nino was eventually saved from continuing the conversation when Mr Koizumi announced that dinner was ready, and everyone was asked to take a seat. While President Sakurai took the seat at the head of the table, his wife settled down to his right side. The woman asked Nino to join her, and the young couple consisting of Sho and Keiko sat down at the opposite side of the table. Gentleman-like, Sho offered the girl the honour of sitting between him and his father, so that he and Nino were left exactly across each other. Nino almost didn't dare to look at the other man, but when he did, their eyes met briefly, just for the split of a second, before both of them averted their eyes and the first course was served.

During dinner, Nino didn't talk much. He didn't even know what he was expected to say after answering just a few work-related questions from Sho and his father, but luckily, President Sakurai had taken it upon himself to keep the conversation lively. He was a very good speaker after all and it showed.

"Ninomiya-kun is a great organizer, he even has our most important business contacts all filed in his head, including telephone numbers and e-mail addresses!" President Sakurai finalized some praise about Nino.

Sho nodded. "That sounds not bad indeed, Ninomiya-san!"

"Ah, I'm just good at remembering things that I read," Nino replied, slightly embarrassed. He didn't like to brag about his skills that much.

"You'll see, Sho, he will be a great right hand for you," President Sakurai proclaimed.

"Or left hand," Nino added, chuckling, causing Sho to look at him, slightly confused.

"Because he's a leftie," Sho's father explained, before politely laughing about Nino's little joke.

"Right, right! Or... left!" Sho replied, joining the laughter.

Nino wanted to vanish in thin air, and so he didn't contribute more for the moment and instead left the task of entertaining the table to Sho, who ended up talking a lot about the experiences he had collected overseas.

Nino would have been fired up to listen to all of his childhood friend's stories, he even had imagined this kind of conversation before. Just, in his imagination, it had been completely different. It had just been him and Sho and Sho's parents, and Sho's speech had rather been something along the line of wishing Nino had been there with him, instead of simply listing places and hotels he had visited and learned from.

Despite the unmet expectations, it all still sounded interesting, at least the part Nino was paying attention to. He had to admit that he had a hard time to focus on what exactly the young man was saying, his brain occupied with several other things – paying attention to Keiko and her mimics, trying hard to ignore the annoying rash on his neck and trying to forget his broken heart over the fact that Sho didn't remember him. 

He was not able to enjoy the meal, his sense of taste completely gone, and only hollowly praised the food, which apparently, Mrs Sakurai had helped to prepare, despite having a private cook. Nino wished he could properly taste everything and praise it wholeheartedly, as he could see how happy the woman was about the fact that especially her son seemed to enjoy every single bite.

Between two courses, the conversation switched from Sho's Europe trip to his relationship with Keiko, although the couple seemed a bit embarrassed to talk about it and instead, Keiko only leaned a bit closer towards her partner, linking their arms while they were waiting for dessert and Sho smiling at her, warmly. Nino didn't want it, but the view of those two being so close, made him feel sick. It even made the rash on his neck so bad, that he had to pretend to receive an important phone call so that he could stand up from the table and excuse himself for a while.

The young man took the chance while holding his phone in his hands and remembering Aiba's request and took a picture of Sho and Keiko flirting with each other. It wasn't exactly the type of picture he would have wanted to take of Sho, also not the type of picture he would have wanted to show to his best friend, but it was probably the only chance this evening, so he took what he could get.

Pretending to pick up the call, Nino quickly walked out of the winter garden, through the living room, and onto the corridor, aiming for the bathroom. When he reached it, he immediately dropped his phone next to the sink. He reached up to loosen his necktie and collar, pushing it aside to reveal his neck. A glance into the mirror told Nino, that it looked just as bad as it felt. Red and irritated, small pustules covering the right side of his neck almost completely – one of Nino's most affected spots. He cursed silently and squinted his eyes, collecting all the willpower he had left to keep himself from scratching.

He quickly proceeded to wash his hands with cold water and soap before he reached into his trousers pocket and pulled out his small hand towel and a small bottle of aloe vera gel. He drenched the hand towel in cold water and brought it up to the area at his neck which was affected by the rash, carefully cleaning it with the wet cloth and pressing it firmly against the irritated skin, trying to let the coolness work as a substitute for scratching. Soon after, he started dapping his skin.

It wasn't the same as scratching, but it felt relieving enough for now, at least enough for Nino to be able to collect himself again and focus on fighting against it. He drenched the hand towel once more to cool it again and repeated his actions from before while coming back to remembering his breathing exercises to calm his nerves. He breathed in, he breathed out, tried to forget everything that stressed him, focused onto the coolness of his hand towel.

Once the symptoms had calmed down enough, Nino proceeded to add some of the aloe vera gel, which also had a cooling and soothing effect to the red patches of his skin, allowed it to dry a bit while packing his things and then readjusted his shirt's collar and necktie. He looked into the mirror again. It looked OK. His skin was still red, but it already looked a little bit better and the most important was that the itching had become far less than before and he had made it without injuring his skin. He took another deep breath and prepared himself mentally to spend the rest of the evening seeing Keiko clinging to Sho and the two flirting with each other. He visualised it, tried to accept it, and moved on. He could do this!

Back at the table, dessert had already been served, but no one had dared to start without him. Nino felt a bit bad about that and apologized once more for his sudden disappearance. When he settled back down, Nino could feel the others' gazes on him. Especially knowing Sho's look on him made Nino feel slightly nervous again, but he did not dare to look back at him and instead focused on Sho's mother.

"Is everything alright?" Mrs Sakurai asked, concerned. "Was it about your mother?"

Nino smiled at her, nodding. He didn't want to directly lie at her, so he let her think what she wanted and just answered, "It's OK, please don't worry, it was just a false alarm. Sorry for making you wait, you could have continued eating without me, really."

"No way," Mrs Sakurai said, smiling. "We wanted to wait."

"Now, let's eat," Sho finally said, determined.

He has suddenly focused on his food again, already clenching the teaspoon that was served with what looked like mango pudding topped with a variety of tropical fruits and accompanied by waffles. Nino couldn't help but smirk. Sho really looked like he had had a hard time waiting and holding back from raiding the dessert. For a moment, he looked like the sweet young boy he once had been.

"You may eat, sweet tooth," Mrs Sakurai agreed, Sho slightly blushed and the table broke into laughter for a minute before everyone started to enjoy the sweet treat.

The conversation topics switched to all different kind of things, from the weather to current political discussion, sports as well as other popular themes on the media and whatnot. They drank more. Nino switched to non-alcoholic drinks after the glass of wine he took with the main course. They talked more and more, and eventually, the strict seating order dissolved. People got up, walked a bit through the house when for example Mrs Sakurai showed Nino a new painting in the hallway on the second floor that she bought from a local upcoming artist, or President Sakurai took Keiko, who seemed to have an interest in music, with him to show her his record collection. Sho followed them into his father's study, a glass of wine in hand.

Nino preferred staying in the dining area together with Sho's mother, the woman still chatty and in a very good mood. After all, her dinner had been a success. Together, they were now looking out of the window into the gardens. Although it was dark already, a few lanterns placed here and there were throwing circles of light onto the nearby bushes and trees, lighting certain areas just enough to help Nino remember how he had been playing there when he had been a child. Nearby the stone porch in front of the winter garden was a large magnolia, almost in full bloom, the light of a nearby lantern brushing the sweeping soft white and pink petals. In the back, there was a planted line of blue hydrangeas, a small stone path guiding further in the back to what Nino remembered as the fruits tree garden, a small glade, sprouting daisies and dandelions, surrounded by peach, apple and a cherry tree, one of each.

There, on top of a plaid blanket, he and Sho were often playing card games, talking, or reading books together or to each other, or just each to themselves, side by side. The happy memories came with a slight sting right into Nino's heart. How unimportant and insignificant those times must have been for Sho if he had truly forgotten them... but no matter what, Nino would cling to them. For him, they were all but insignificant.

"Your garden is so beautiful, Mrs Sakurai," Nino eventually said. "Sometimes, I still dream about running through them." Together with Sho. But Nino didn't add that.

"You really liked playing in our garden when you were a boy, Ninomiya-kun," the woman replied, a nostalgic smile on her lips.

Nino chuckled. "What can I say, I was really grateful to have a place to come to after school. And I really do love flowers!"

They both laughed and playfully clinked glasses.

"Ah, yes," Mrs Sakurai sighed. "When did you stop coming to visit us, back then?"

Nino did not need to think twice to give an answer to that question.

"When your son went overseas," he said. "My playmate was gone and I didn't want to bother you."

The woman tilted her head and touched Nino's shoulder. "You know that you're always welcome here, right? We are so grateful for everything your father did for us and everything you do and will be doing for us and our son."

"Thank you, Mrs Sakurai, I appreciate your words and I really enjoy having tea with you from time to time. Maybe next time we can set up a table in the garden?" the young man suggested, earning a pleased nod from the lady by his side.

A few minutes later, Mrs Sakurai had vanished into the kitchen to talk over a few details with her cook so they could note down things the woman had noticed and worked on perfecting their recipes even more. Mr Sakurai was still showing Keiko his most favourite musical pieces – which could be heard even in the dining area – so Nino was left alone, but not for long. He could already hear the footsteps of someone entering the winter garden again and when he looked up and saw Sho's reflection in the window glass, his suspicion about who had returned was confirmed.

Sho just stood there at the doorframe for a while, sipping from his wine glass, watching. If he was looking outside or if he was watching Nino, Nino wasn't completely sure about, but at one point, their eyes seemed to meet in the window's reflection, and Nino immediately averted his gaze, feeling his cheeks blushing slightly.

It took Sho a few more minutes and a refill of his wine glass before he approached Nino further until they were standing next to each other, looking outside with a glass of wine – or black currant juice in Nino's case – in hands and obviously not knowing what to talk about to each other. It was weird and Nino hated it. He had imagined this to be so different, actually. So much easier. But this, this wasn't easy. It was painful. 

Although Nino had been doing his best to stay calm until now, being all alone with Sho definitely made him nervous again. He tried to take deep breaths and calm his slightly raised heart rate, unnoticed. Nino's biggest concern was his thoughts that already started to run wild again, even so far, that he considered for a moment to take the risk and talk about his and Sho's past, mention that they had been childhood friends and see if the other man truly did not remember. Maybe he just needed a little reminder. Maybe just a little story, to get back into it...

However, in the end, Nino couldn't work up the courage to do so and it was Sho, who spoke up first.

"So... do you like cars, Ninomiya-kun?" the young man asked between two sips of his wine.

Nino frowned at the other man, seriously confused. Really? Out of all possible things they could be conversing about, he wanted to talk about _cars_? Or was he just talking nonsense, because he was already tipsy?

"Not particularly, why?" Nino replied, still baffled.

"Uhm, I mean, I saw you taking a closer look at mine, before," Sho replied, raising an eyebrow and Nino formed an understanding "oh" with his lips. That's where he was coming from.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you," Nino chuckled "But that was sheer curiosity but not particularly deep interest. I'm not too much of a car fan."

Suddenly, Sho burst into laughter. It sounded sincere and it caught Nino completely off guard. He couldn't help but stare at the other man, his heart jumping in his chest.

"And there I thought I impressed you."

The slightly taller man chuckled one last time, looking at Nino, his eyes half-closed as the laugh made them appear smaller, like shining sickles, illuminated by a nearby lantern. He sighed slightly before he focused back on his drink. Nino wondered. Did he really want to impress him or just show off? What was even going on here?

"It needs more than a fancy car to impress me," Nino retorted, snorting. Rather than the car, what really interested him was what a car could possibly tell him about its owner.

The other man chuckled. "You know, that's a little sassy, but I like your straightforwardness."

Nino blushed. He had almost forgotten about their actual relationship – upcoming boss and secretary and being called sassy even before they started working together was probably not the best way to go.

"I'm sorry, I did not mean to be disrespectful or anything," the man murmured.

"No no, it's OK," Sho shook his head. "We're not taking it personally."

"We?" Nino raised his eyebrows. "Oh, you mean like in you and your car?" He chuckled.

"Don't laugh at me," the other man returned with a serious look on his face.

"I'm sorry. I didn't," Nino said hastily, his smile immediately vanished.

Sho's eyes narrowed. He _really_ looked serious. "You did."

"I'm sorry."

Probably, it was better not to say anything more, Nino assumed, and so they fell into a weird silence again. Luckily, it didn't last for too long, as Sho's mother was soon back in the living room to join them. The woman always had something to chat about – her topics definitely more interesting in Nino's books than _cars_ – and so she quickly filled the emptiness between them.

\+ + +

After the slightly awkward conversation with Sho, Nino soon excused himself to drive home, considering that he should better get up early tomorrow to give himself thirty minutes extra time to prepare for his _new boss_. When Keiko mentioned that she was getting very tired too, Sho immediately offered to drive her home, but considering his blood alcohol level, both of his parents prohibited him to sit behind the steering wheel, and so Sho ended up asking his girlfriend to stay over for the night. While asking her, he had his arm around her shoulder but was looking at Nino, which the young man found a little irritating. If the other man was trying to impress him with what his night had still to promise, it wouldn't work. Nino didn't even _want_ to imagine what Sho and Keiko would be doing once alone in a room. No, really.

"Show off...," Nino sighed when he was sitting back in his car.

Of course, Sho's past behaviour had rubbed him in the wrong way. He didn't like it. Not at all. But what could he do against it, anyway? So, instead of lingering with the other man for longer in his thoughts, Nino checked the glove box of his car for his CDs and picked another calming relaxation music for his drive home. Before he started the engine though, he remembered Aiba's request again, and since he had managed to fulfil it, which he had almost forgotten, he quickly opened their LINE conversation and sent his friend the picture he had secretly taken of Sho and Keiko at the dinner table.

 _"Here's your picture. Home in fifteen minutes,"_ he added as a caption and then put away his phone to finally start his ride home.

As soon as Nino had returned home and taken off his shoes, Aiba's caller ID showed up on his smartphone screen. Nino picked up the call, putting it on speakers and informed his friend, that he would just quickly change into his pyjamas and then they could talk. Aiba agreed to wait and just a few minutes later, Nino was changed, had brushed his teeth and applied a bit more cooling crème on his still slightly red skin. Now he was lying on top of his bed, some soothing aromatherapy candle lit on his bedside table, and low volume calm music in the background. His eyes were closed and his phone lifted to his left ear, the speaker setting switched back to normal phone mode.

"So, I assume you received my picture," he said.

Shuffling on the other side of the line. Probably, Aiba had also put the call on speakers so he could preoccupy himself while waiting for Nino. Shortly after, there was his friend speaking into his ear.

 _"I did!"_ Aiba said, obviously excited. _"WOW, he's hot! But who's that girl?"_

Nino sighed before he answered. 

"Kitagawa Keiko, rich daughter of a business partner of the Sakurai's and apparently, his girlfriend or at least the girl he's supposed to marry one day, I guess."

Short silence. _"Oh..."_

"Even worse," Nino said before he took a deep breath and lifted his free hand to pinch the area between his eyebrows. "Sho completely forgot about me."

 _"What?!"_ Something crashed and Aiba cursed. He must have let something drop.

"Yepp... I know," the other man continued. "But seriously, he doesn't remember me at all. He even got my name wrong after his father told him about me."

_"Damned… bummer… I'm sorry, man. Are you OK?"_

If Nino was absolutely honest, it still hurt. Remembering how he had imagined his long-anticipated reunion with his childhood friend that he had liked so much when he was a child, whose perfect image he had clung to for more than ten years, even if they had not been in contact at all, and how it had actually gone, felt devastating.

"I'm OK," Nino replied after a short pause, but the slight crack in his voice might give away his real feelings. He had considered telling Aiba about his rash, but in the end, Aiba probably knew anyway and there was nothing he could do about it, so he decided not to say anything. "And it's not your fault, I shouldn't have expected anything in the first place."

 _"Still, that sucks! I'm so sorry, Nino...",_ Aiba said, and he sounded sincerely concerned.

Nino tried to smile, for his friend's sake. "Don't worry, I'll get over it." Someday, at least, hopefully.

But his best friend wasn't finished yet. _"Will you be able to work for him like this?"_

Nino considered the question for a moment before he replied. "Probably, it will be easier like this. Now I know that I don't need to get confused over my crush for him because I don't stand a chance anyway."

There was a snort coming from the other end of the line. _"Sorry, I know it's inappropriate at the moment but... you just admitted it."_

"What?" Nino frowned.

_"That you have a crush on him!"_

True! Crap! Nino slapped his own forehead.

"I... I'm working on making this a past thing," he said reluctantly. "Let's not talk about it anymore, OK?"

_"OK, as you wish. Although you know that I'm all rooting for you, no matter if that guy forgot about you or has a girlfriend... we could find a way to make you win him over, you know?"_

Nino chuckled softly. His friend's determination and unlimited support made him feel all warm inside. 

"Thank you, Aiba-chan, but I don't think this will be necessary. Sometimes, we need to accept a defeat."

 _"As you like, but if you change your mind, let me know and we'll come up with a proper battle strategy!"_ Aiba replied, causing Nino to actually laugh. _"Anyway, good luck for tomorrow. Gaming session in the evening?"_

"Yeah, sure. But I'll pay my mother a short visit after work, first. You can let yourself in again."

_"Roger! See you tomorrow!"_

"Good night," Nino said.

He hung up. He could still feel the smile on his lips. He opened his eyes. His room already felt brighter than just a few minutes before. That was Aiba's magic, again.

When Nino sat up and reached to place his phone on the bedside table, his eyes fell onto the black journal he had found in the park near the office the other day. He had placed it there, next to the aromatherapy candle and the small bottle of aloe vera crème that he kept there for emergencies, should he wake up from a stressing nightmare of something like that. 

Since it would still take the young man a little longer to be able to fall asleep, Nino decided to read a little more in the journal.

As he had not found out much about it yet, other than that it wasn't a simple planner, and nothing obviously showed who it might belong to, maybe reading a little further would clarify things. If this had been diary entries, just a name could have been enough for giving a hint, perhaps. However, it had not taken Nino long to realise that it was not daily reports either that were written down on the pages. It was rather a cluster of thoughts, quotes, short stories, lyrics and poems to various topics, merged into a big collection. Some of those works were more abstract than others, but sooner or later, Nino was always able to decipher the message lying underneath. Some were more generalizing, others seemed to have a very personal touch.

Nino had to admit that he felt a bit like an intruder, but on the other hand, the more he read in the journal, the more he felt like reading a book. A very good book. Maybe his favourite of all times.

This night, he started reading a short story of which whole passages had been blacked out and re-written, but he found it interesting and challenging to search a way through the scratched notes and finally find the version that had been supposed to be written. It was a story about friendship and how important it could be for someone throughout life, throughout the good and bad times. It had a melancholy touch to it but it was also simply beautiful and described feelings Nino could immediately connect with.

In the end, Nino was more tired than he thought and he felt so comfortable, that he didn't even realise how he fell asleep in the middle of the story. Lulled in by the calming scent of lavender, the soothing background music and beautiful words he read on the pages of the journal, he got completely lost in the midst of a fictional character's feeling.

Nino didn't know yet, that he would be spending those thirty minutes that he had planned in more tomorrow for preparations for his new position with finishing reading that story. Because he liked it so much that he couldn't even think about leaving the house before knowing how it ended.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Probably, it shouldn't be a surprise to Nino that his first day working with – or for – Sho turned out to be a middle-sized disaster.

First days always were challenging. Every first day at a new school, his first day at university, his first day in every job. Especially, when Nino had first started this job and had followed his father around to learn everything important, he had felt completely overwhelmed by all of the duties a secretary had to cover, or how much he had to consider and coordinate and how alert and prone to details he needed to be. 

He had spilt his first cup of tea that he had been supposed to serve to President Sakurai, and worst of all, he had spilt it onto the president's shoes. He had made copies of the wrong document for an important meeting and sent an e-mail to the wrong person. Any rookie mistakes anyone could ever think of, Nino had probably made them within the first week in this job. He had really been lucky that his father, as well as President Sakurai, had been very understanding and patient with him, but that alone wouldn't have improved the situation. Of course, it was upon Nino to make up for his mistakes, learn from them, and prevent them from reoccurring in the future.

Things today were different, of course. It wasn't actually Nino's first day. It was his first day with his new boss, yes, but truth to be told, Nino did not expect that many changes from his previous work. It was still the same company he was working for, it was still the same job profile, it was even the same family he was working under. The only difference was that it wasn't President Sakurai now, he was directly subordinated to, but his son.

Nino wasn't completely sure yet if this was an improvement or degradation from his previous position, but apparently, President Sakurai had high opinions of him and saw it as an improvement, so Nino wanted to try and treat it as such too, if possible. He could already imagine though, that things with Sho wouldn't be as easy as with the man's father. After all, Sho was a newcomer now. Being set up to take over the position of the vice president of a hotel management company, aiming for the position as their president one day once his father retired, and travelling through Europe after university graduation to check out some hotels, were two completely different pairs of shoes.

Nino did not know how well Sho was prepared for this, but the fact, that _Mr. Sakurai Junior_ first of all, did _not_ show up at work on time, already made the secretary slightly nervous.

Actually, it was pretty bad, because Nino still needed to do some briefing with Sho regarding the young man's first meeting as the aspiring vice president of the Sakurai group with the other big names of the company. Even if this was to be _only_ an internal meeting, it was a very important one for Sho, to gain the respect and goodwill of his father's partners, the most important people in the company. Sho might already have it a little hard because, as the son of the company president, he was meant to become his direct successor anyway in the long run, even if there were people who had way more experience in this business than he had. Nino was sure, though, if Sho was competent and showed it, people would accept and respect him. Thus, it was crucial to make a good, professional first impression at such a meeting. 

At least, that's what Nino thought, and what Sho's father had also told him, but apparently, Sho wasn't taking such a narrow view on this, as he was definitely late to his first appointment with Nino. Even if you're the boss, or probably, especially if you're the boss, this was not leaving a good first impression on anybody.

Nino couldn't help but wonder what the reason for Sho might be to be late on his first day. He checked the time on his computer, it was already almost an hour later than they had agreed to meet this morning. Nino already had had his first coffee, and the coffee he had prepared for Sho, first thing in the morning, had long turned cold. Nino had tried to reach Sho on his work cell phone, which number he had received yesterday, but he had been unable to reach the man three times in a row, so he had given up on that.

He knew that Sho had spent the night at his parents' place after the family dinner last evening. According to what he told during the conversation at the table, Sho wasn't staying there in general, as it seemed that the family had prepared a separate smaller house that belonged to them for their son to stay. However, considering that Sho had drunken a few more glasses of wine than appropriate for someone who still needed to drive, it seemed to be the safer option to stay at his parents' home.

Sho could have just shown up at work together with his father, but when President Sakurai had stopped by to check in on Nino about half an hour ago, the company president had been alone, and informed his former private secretary with an apologetic face, that Sho would show up separately. Nino wondered if the man wasn't mad at his son, but maybe, since it was only his first day, he had decided to go easy on him.

 _Probably, Sho is spending his morning with Keiko, taking his sweet time with her_ , Nino's brain made sure, he remembered. The young man blushed slightly and pinched the skin between his eyebrows.

He really didn't want to think about _that_ part of the story, but his imagination had already taken off, showing him images of Sho and the young woman waking up together in the morning, in the same bed, both naked and only covered by a white bedsheet, Sho twirling some of Keiko's beautiful dark brown hair around his fingers, the couple smiling at each other tenderly, completely forgetting about their daily duties. Maybe, after a steamy night with his girlfriend, Sho had even forgotten that he needed to start a new job today! Maybe, he was even still sleeping, the young woman in his arms...

Nino groaned in heavy frustration.

"Ninomiya-san, what's with that attitude, making such inappropriate noises already so early in the morning?" a voice suddenly pulled the young man out of his thoughts.

When he lifted his gaze, there was Sho standing in front of him, wearing a dark pinstriped suit and a red tie, in which he looked criminally handsome – if just the necktie wasn't askew – his eyebrows raised sceptically. Crap!

"I-I am sorry, Sakurai-san," Nino almost hit his knees against his desk when he jumped up from his seat and quickly lowered his head in a greeting to his boss. "Good morning."

Even after Sho half-heartedly answered to the greeting, Nino was still not ready to lift his head again to face the other man. He could feel that his cheeks had turned red from embarrassment. So much for good and professional first impressions.

"So, what's on the agenda today? I suppose it's your job to tell me that much, isn't it?" Sho asked before breaking into a yawn. "Damned, it's been too late yesterday..."

Nino finally looked up again, his eyes immediately glued back on his new boss. He indeed looked tired.

"Of course, it is," he said, although he added in his thoughts, that he had also e-mailed the schedule to the work e-mail address of Sho, that the other probably had not yet checked. "I have already prepared your schedule and made a printout for your easier reference, here you go," he handed Sho the said printout. "As you can see, there is a meeting scheduled at 11, some kind of first formal introduction of you to the highest people here in the company."

"Sounds incredibly boring," Sho said frankly, pushing his lower lip a bit forward. "Do I really have to?"

Nino had a hard time not to return a cheeky _So what about YOUR attitude, now_ and instead, he said, "It's a very important meeting you should try to leave a good impression. I suggest, we briefly talk about it so you're well prepared."

"Talking about it with you?" Sho pointed at Nino, his eyebrows raised again, to confirm.

"Yes?"

"Why should I talk to _you_ about that meeting with those oh-so-important people, aren't you just my secretary?"

 _Just my secretary?!_ Nino took a deep breath. Had he just heard correctly?

"Excuse me?" he managed to say in a low voice, trying to hold his composure.

"I mean... isn't your job rather make sure we all have something to drink and take notes and stuff like that?"

Apparently, someone here had no idea what he was talking about.

" _Stuff like that_ is indeed part of my duties," Nino started to explain, trying to keep his voice calm and a smile on his lips, even if he did not feel like it at all at this very moment. He should consider that Sho was new to this. "However, it's also my duty to be well-prepared for whatever meeting you're supposed to attend, and to brief you about it, accordingly. Which – pardon me – seems to be a good idea so at least one of us is properly prepared."

Sho simply hummed, nodding slightly, but his critical look still told Nino that he was probably still not convinced. Maybe, Nino had also been a bit flippant. He needed to take care of his emotions here, the secretary took note, mentally. It was harder than he expected to accept this new, subordinate role in his relationship with Sho, who had been his friend when they were children, someone who seemed to be at the same level as him despite the different classes of their families. As children, it didn't matter to them that one of them was the son of a million worthy business and the other the son of a secretary. As children, they had been equal and respected each other as just the boys they were. But now, it was different. And it was difficult. Especially with Sho having developed quite an attitude, apparently. Nino really had to get used to that.

However, besides all his misconceptions about how things would be with Sho now, Nino had at least expected that the young man would be a bit more professional when it came to his role of the future president of the Sakurai group and to take this seriously. Well... it was his first day and maybe, Nino was too quick to judge, so probably, he should give Sho some time to warm up to his new role. He couldn't expect him to be as much of a perfect boss from the start, as President Sakurai was.

"I guess, I'll go into my office and then we can talk?" Sho suggested, obviously clueless of how to handle the situation. "I'll call you inside once I'm ready."

"Alright," Nino replied. That was fair enough. "Just push the button with the number one on your telephone and I'll get a direct call from you," the secretary added, gesturing towards his own telephone on top of his desk, and Sho nodded before he turned and walked into his office, without any further word.

Once his boss had walked through the glass door that connected the two offices – Nino's space rather open, similar to a small reception, right in front of Sho's room – the secretary sighed and sat back down, frowning. Now, this could really have been a better start, he thought, his eyebrows creased, as he looked after his boss.

Sho's office wasn't as big as his father's office, but it wasn't small either. The room was located one storey below the company president's, so at least from Nino's view, nothing much had changed. When sitting at his desk, facing the office of his new boss, there were still those huge glass windows to his left side, causing the whole facade of the building and revealing the scenery of the nearby part behind it. Nino loved being able to look into the green. It kind of soothed him and helped him to refocus when work was becoming hectic.

The layout of Sho's office was similar to the one of his father, just smaller, and of course not as well equipped yet, considering that the office of a higher-up ranked person in a company was often some kind of personal space which would change and grow together with its owner. So far, it was rather empty, except the basic furniture like a big desk with a computer, a shelf for important documents and folders in the back, a small set of couch chairs around a coffee table, and – something Sho's mother had insisted on – a painting hanging on one of the walls, apparently, another one that she bought from that street artist she had told Nino about the evening before. Besides that, though, there was no personal touch of Sho yet. Nino wondered, if and how that would change over the years...

Through the glass wall that separated Sho's from Nino's workspace, the secretary was able to watch his new boss' movements. There were blinds behind the glass wall, however, they were open, so Nino had a clear view on the young man who had pushed his hands into the pockets of his pinstripe suit and took a look around the office. Shortly after, Sho sat down at his desk and started the computer. He seemed a bit occupied with it, but soon lost interest in it and instead reached for a remote controller lying on top of his desk, trying out what it was for.

It was the remote controller for the automatic blinds, and quickly, the man proceeded to play with them, opening and closing them, which produced a low but persistent noise coming from the tiny motors operating the mechanism, and after five minutes it was starting to annoy Nino. When he looked up from his own workspace, he could see Sho looking at him, a child-like grin on his face and one hand raised to wave at Nino while still opening and closing the blinds, as if he was playing "now you see me, now you don't".

Nino would be lying if he wasn't slightly irritated by Sho fooling around with the feature he obviously seemed to have taken a liking to. Was his new boss an idiot, or what?! Nino tried to ignore him, as he had to focus on other more important stuff. Nino slightly shook his head. This was ridiculous.

A few more minutes later, Sho had apparently stopped playing with the automatic blinds – _Thank God!_ – but then, Nino's phone rang. He quickly shot a glance towards Sho – the blinds seemed to be staying open for now – who sat there behind his desk with his own phone receiver pressed against his ear and looking straight back at Nino.

"Yes, how can I help you?" said Nino, when he picked up the receiver.

Sho looked at him, his eyebrows furrowing. _"Ninomiya-san, I just tried the coffee someone prepared and left on my desk. I assume that someone was you?"_

"Correct," Nino replied, frowning slightly. "Why?"

 _"Well, it sucks!"_ Sho replied, directly.

"Excuse me?" Nino was slightly confused.

_"And it's cold!"_

"Ah!" Of course... Nino cursed himself internally. He should have remembered switching out the coffee and bringing a new one, once he noticed that his boss was late and the coffee had turned cold. "I am sorry, I had already prepared it, since I expected you to show up earlier. I'll go make you a new one right now."

 _"Hm,"_ Sho's voice in Nino's ear. _"Good. I expected a secretary to be able to make good coffee at least, isn't that the most important part of your job?"_

Nino gasped at the rudeness of Sho's comment, and if Sho hadn't put the receiver back on the telephone stand, it would have been Nino who ended the call. The secretary snorted to himself, still slightly dumbfounded, but quickly got back a hold on himself and stood up to go to the nearby pantry to prepare a new hot drink for his boss, and some tea for himself, since he was already at it. Somehow, Nino was already annoyed, he could use a cup of chamomile tea, perhaps.

It didn't take long for Nino to finish, place his own cup of tea on his work desk, and enter Sho's office to hand him his freshly brewed coffee. Nino was almost surprised when the other man murmured a "thanks" before taking the cup. He took a small sip to check it. Since the man has been kind of focused – probably on something on his computer – before, and his face didn't really change, Nino couldn't tell what Sho was thinking about the coffee.

Slightly confused, he dared to ask, "So? I hope it's to your satisfaction, now?"

Sho put the coffee down and looked at Nino for a second, his face still frowning. "It still sucks."

"Pardon me?" Nino raised his eyebrows.

"The taste is just...," Sho said, now pulling a slightly disgusted face. "I guess you really suck at making coffee."

"I am _very_ sorry," Nino immediately retorted, trying to compose himself not to act up against his boss' disrespectful comment on the spot. "I fear that's just how coffee in this company tastes."

"I like it with chocolate," Sho simply said, crossing his arms and shooting a dissatisfied look at his coffee.

"With chocolate? You mean, like, cocoa powder on top?" Nino frowned. _Like younger people who aren't used to the bitter taste of coffee yet prefer to drink coffee?_

"That, _and_ a piece of chocolate melted inside," the young boss added.

"You could have told me," Nino said.

"Are you blaming _me_ now?" Sho asked, pouting – which Nino almost found cute if there wasn't more to come –, "Or are you going to get some cocoa powder and chocolate for me now?"

"I'm on my way," Nino sighed silently and tried not to roll his eyes. Instead, he took back Sho's coffee and bowed slightly. Then, before he left the office, he turned around to face his boss again. "Did you already have the time to take a look at the schedule?" _in between playing with the blinds and complaining about my coffee-making skills?_

Sho cleared his throat and leaned forward, leaning on his elbows and folding his fingers, as he looked at Nino.

"I honestly don't see why I should prepare for an internal meeting. The only purpose is to get to know each other better... won't I get to know all these people while working together with them?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "I think that would be a much more... natural approach."

"It's only a formality, indeed, but it's how things work here and also what your father wishes," Nino replied. He started wondering. Was Sho really just not taking this serious or...

"Hm... fine, if it really has to be," the other man said, his look giving away how much he hated that idea.

"Please take a look at the notes I made for you on this section in the printout, while I'm going to pimp your coffee," Nino added, frowning worriedly. "I'll be right back."

When Nino exited the office, Sho closed the blinds.

Nino rolled his eyes and headed back to the coffee kitchen _again_ (but not before downing half of his chamomile tea and taking a few deep breaths). When he entered the office again, Nino could only hear something drop to the floor, followed by English cursing. His boss wasn't in sight, although it only took Nino a few steps forward to see that he was just bent down behind the desk, apparently to pick up whatever he dropped. Slightly confused, Nino put the tablet with the upgraded chocolate-coffee on the desk and walked around to see what exactly his boss was doing and if he could offer any help.

"Sorry but, did you just curse in a foreign language?" Nino couldn’t help but ask.

Sho looked up, a slightly embarrassed grin flashing over his face. "Must be an old habit."

"Is everything OK?" Nino frowned.

"Uhm... Yeah?" Sho offered, but honestly, Nino didn't get the impression of _everything being OK_ when he dropped his look and saw a mess of black on the crème coloured carpet lying underneath the office table.

"What –" _have you done_ Nino wanted to ask, but then he saw the culprits.

There was a black fountain pen lying on the carpet, smashed by something that looked like a paperweight. The man's hands were covered in black and he was holding them in a strange position, as if not knowing what to do about the situation. How did Sho even manage to drop both of these things at the same time, and unlucky enough to create such a mess?

"I ruined the carpet," Sho said, looking distressed and pulling in his lips between his teeth guiltily. Nino couldn't help but chuckle slightly at that reaction but stopped immediately when Sho shot him an annoyed glance. "Don't laugh."

"I'm sorry," Nino replied, clearing his throat before he pulled out his hand towel from his trousers' pocket and bent down to pick up the demolished pen and the still perfectly shaped paperweight to place them back onto the table. "Well, look, it's not that bad, is it? I mean you could pretend it's supposed to be like that? Modern art and stuff?"

Nino reached into his trousers' pocket again, this time pulling out a small package of wet hand paper towels, which he always kept for emergencies. He ripped it open and instinctively knelt down again, to have better access to Sho's still ink-covered hands. When he noticed what he was about to do, he hesitated for the split of a second, but after exchanging a quick glance with Sho, he focused back onto his boss' hands. He held one of his own small hands behind Sho’s, to hold them in place, and started trying to clean off the worst mess from his fingers. He couldn't help but notice how warm Sho's hands were, how soft, but also... slightly shaking. When he looked up to check on Sho, his boss had averted his eyes again and seemed to be busy studying the carpet underneath his feet.

"Should I add some more dark spots here and there?" Sho suggested, jumping onto the train Nino set off.

The secretary shrugged while still damping the wet paper towel against Sho's fingers. It more or less did the job, at least for now. Of course, Sho would have to go to the restroom and wash his hands properly with soap, maybe more than just once, but like this, he at least wouldn't get himself or the rest of the office even more dirty.

"It would look like a pattern. Nobody would notice that is wasn't like that to begin with," Nino added.

Now it was Sho, who chuckled, and Nino took in a deep breath, trying to ignore the little jump his heart made at that adorable sound.

"I like your way of thinking," Sho said, looking at his secretary, already more relaxed than just a minute ago. His expression changed quickly to a more serious one, though. "But honestly... don't –"

"I won't tell anyone," Nino assured him immediately.

"OK," was everything, Sho replied. His look went back to his messy hands.

When Nino realised, that he was still holding onto them, he immediately let go off Sho's hands. He dumped the now darkened wet paper towel into the trash bin underneath Sho's office desk and stood back up.

"Sakurai-san..." he began.

"Yes?"

"May I say something?"

Sho frowned. "Hm? Well, sure."

"Actually," Nino started, averting his look. He wasn't completely sure if he should break this to his boss, but on the other hand, wasn't it his job?

"What is it?" the other man asked, slightly confused.

Nino swallowed, and then, he just dropped what was on his mind. "I think, you're being nervous."

Sho blinked at him. 

"What?! I'm not!" the man broke into laughter. 

It sounded fake. Nino immediately felt sorry for Sho.

"It's OK," Nino replied. "I understand. It's your first day here, everything is new, you don't really know what to expect, the upcoming meeting –"

"I said, I'm not nervous!" Sho repeated a stubborn look on his face.

"Then why are your hands shaking?" Nino asked, challenging, pointing at them.

"Uhm... low blood sugar?"

"Seriously?" Nino frowned.

Sho gestured at the coffee standing on the desk "Thus, I need the chocolate!"

Nino was still frowning. "Sakurai-san..."

It took a few seconds of staring at each other, before Sho gave in, sighing. "OK, yeah, maybe I'm a little nervous, so?" He looked frustrated.

"So," Nino picked up, "I'd rather recommend some tea to you instead of coffee, to calm your nerves."

Sho raised a critical eyebrow at his secretary. "Do you?"

Nino nodded. "I'll be right back."

"But what about my chocolate coffee?" Sho asked, looking at the cup longingly when Nino put it back onto the tray and got ready to leave.

"I can leave it for later if you want?" the secretary suggested.

"It will be cold."

"There's something called iced coffee," Nino said. "It will still be delicious. I'll put it in the fridge for you for later."

"Do you have a solution for everything or what?" Sho asked, maybe intending to joke, but it came out a bit weirdly.

"Well, saving situations also belongs to my job as a secretary," Nino replied, slightly snappish before he got hold of himself again. "Now you should probably go wash your hands properly while I'm going to prepare some tea for your nerves, OK?"

Sho didn't complain anymore and to Nino's surprise even listened to his suggestion and went to the restroom to wash his still inky hands. 

After Nino had prepared the tea for Sho, he brought and left it on his boss' desk, before taking place in a second chair, deciding to wait for him so that they could finally brief about the upcoming meeting.

The meeting itself, a couple of hours later, wasn't that great, actually. It seemed like Sho had quite a bit of trouble speaking in front of the whole crew, at least, nothing really valuable left his lips. While Sho's father tried to offer his son a few lines to jump on and keep the conversation going, Satomi, who was now the president's private secretary, following Nino's recommendation, shot her colleague a slightly confused look, whereas Nino just hinted a roll of his eyes. At least, now he knew why Sho had not been that fond of the idea of this meeting. His nervousness seemed to have gotten the worst of him.

In the afternoon, Sho was supposed to do some research on a certain new idea worked out by the PR-department of the Sakurai group, something that his father had specially assigned to him. Apparently, Sho wasn't that bad with research, so he quickly finished his task and started to get bored, which he made sure to let Nino know while constantly phoning his secretary and asking him to come into his office, just to ask the most basic and stupid questions about office work Nino had ever heard, like "How do I refill the stapler" or "What are those thingies called, you know those little coloured paper stripes you can put documents on and put them in a folder?" just to name a few. Luckily, Sho had restrained from actually trying to "upgrade" his carpet any further, Nino would have been truly worried about a disaster, otherwise.

"Please, if there's nothing _important_ that I can do for you, let's each focus on our work, OK? We have important things to take care of," Nino finally dared to request. 

At least _he_ had still quite some stuff to do before he'd be allowed to go home.

"I finished my task already."

Nino checked the schedule for today again. There was no immediate further meeting scheduled for Sho, although his father had invited him to join one of his, Sho had already declined that offer. After Sho's first appearance in the late morning, his father didn't have seemed to mind much. However, there was a visit to one of the "SakuHana" hotel branches nearby scheduled in about two hours.

"You could prepare for our visit in the "SakuHana" branch later on," Nino therefore suggested.

"And how exactly should I prepare for that? Make a list of hobbies to introduce myself with?" Sho retorted.

"Well, first and foremost you should know a bit about the hotel's history as well as their current reputation and goals, you could browse their website and... I don't know, just take a look at it, first?"

"Already did. I can read a schedule, you know?" Sho pouted. "I already checked out the website."

 _Maybe, you didn't check it thoroughly enough,_ Nino wanted to say but didn't.

"So... read the last annual financial statement of the branch or something. It should be in a shared online folder between you and the other higher-ups of the company," he suggested, wondering which of them actually was supposed to be the boss here. 

Sho finally complied, however, it only took about ten minutes until his boss had called Nino back into the office once again.

"What is it, now?" Nino asked, slowly but surely getting a bit desperate.

"Do you have any idea how _boring_ annual financial reports are?" Sho ignored Nino's question. The distress was written all over his forehead, denting creases into his skin.

"Actually, yes, I usually have to contribute certain sales numbers for the loss and profit statements in a proper excel sheet and whatnot for several branches," Nino replied and when he looked at Sho, the other stared at him as if he had just spoken in an alien language. Nino raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me but did you really study Economics in Europe?" 

"Of course, I did!" Sho huffed, averting his look. He quickly shook his shoulders as if to loosen them and focused back onto the computer screen. "Could you please get me my iced chocolate-coffee now, so that I won't fall asleep while reading this?"

"Of course," Nino said, approaching the door again.

"Hah, that's amazing... you just follow my order like that," Sho suddenly chuckled, causing Nino to turn and look back at him with a frown on his face. Compared to him, Sho was smirking, which kind of set Nino off. "You know, I've never had a secretary before... it's kind of exciting."

"To have people dance to your tune, you mean?" he snapped before he even noticed.

Sho's smirk vanished instantly. "Why do I feel like I need to apologize to you now?"

"Maybe, because you should?" Nino froze and immediately bit his lower lip. 

Did he really just... Damned, he shouldn't be so upset or at least, he shouldn't let it show. How unprofessional.

"For a secretary, you're kind of sassy, don't you think?" Sho added, leaning back in his office chair and swaying slightly from side to side. Was he pissed off?

"I'm sorry," the secretary just murmured, and bowed slightly. "I'm going to get your coffee."

"Yeah, off you go," his boss said, watching him leave.

After closing the glass door behind him and stomping into the coffee kitchen, Nino took a deep breath. He could feel that his face must have turned red. Thank God, he never had gotten any rash directly on his face, but he could also feel his neck itching slightly. He pressed his eyes close and tried to focus on his breathing. 

He was just upset because Sho had no idea how to properly treat a subordinate. But then, where would he learn to do so? He had been a high school student, then a university student, then he was travelling in Europe. This was Sho's first job and he was already thrown into a boss position. It must be strange for him too, right? At least, that's what Nino tried to tell himself. He was over-reacting. He should focus on his job and if Sho's behaviour didn’t improve after the first few days, he could still try to talk to him or if that did not help, he could talk to Sho's father.

Nino collected himself, took the cold coffee he had stored in the fridge for Sho with him back to the office to give it to his boss – who immediately took a sip and at least didn't make a disgusted face so perhaps, this time he liked his coffee – and then returned to his workspace. At least _he_ should be properly prepared for their appointment, so whatever Sho would miss, Nino would be able to cover.

While briefing through his material, Nino couldn't help but look up from his notes from time to time, to glance through the currently opened blinds into Sho's office. His boss was sitting behind the computer and apparently reading something – Nino didn't care if it were financial reports or any other information, but he hoped he was taking his task seriously. 

Somehow, he did not have the feeling as if Sho was taking this job very seriously. But if he didn't, things might become difficult for him in the future, so Nino hoped that Sho was just a little bit confused on his first day and would soon realise that he had to pay proper attention to certain topics and have a focus on preparing well for meetings, visits, and other appointments. Nino could cover a lot of things with his skills and preparation, but he wasn't the voice of the company, so he didn't have much say.

Maybe, Nino was overthinking and worrying a little too much about everything, at least he seemed to have slipped into a thought spiral, of which only the sudden ringing of his phone managed to pull him out from. Out of reflex, Nino picked up. It was Sho. Again. Of course.

Nino looked up and tried his best not to shoot a death glare through the glass wall into Sho's office.

"What can I help you with, now, Sakurai-san?" Nino asked, trying to sound as nice as possible.

 _"Oh, I phoned you?"_ Sho's voice sounded sincerely surprised. _"It was an accident, I swear! I wanted to call Dad, sorry!"_

"Perhaps you just pressed the wrong button, your father's number should be on short dial number two, I suppose."

_"Alright, see you later, then."_

At least, this time he hadn't to go again to make coffee or something like that, the secretary thought before he put pack the receiver onto the phone station and dedicated himself to his notes once more, this time trying his best not to get distracted again.

About one and a half-hour later, Nino stood up from his place, put his notes into a bag that he used to bring with him when he was outside, and opened the door to Sho's office.

"Sakurai-san? We should head out now," Nino said. "Are you ready?"

"Do I have a choice?" the other man replied but stood up from his desk and reached for his suit's jacket, which he had taken off in the meantime. He approached Nino and walked through the opened door.

"A bit more enthusiasm, please," Nino dared saying, with his best fake smile on his lips when he pressed a few copies that he had made from his own notes into his boss' hands.

"Yes! Since I don't have a choice!" Sho yelled in a fake cheerful voice. "No? Not like that?"

 _Weird._ Nino just slightly shook his head but didn't say anything. If his boss was trying to be funny, he wasn't sure if he succeeded. 

"What happened to your necktie?" he asked instead when glancing over Sho's appearance.

"Huh? What happened to it?" his boss asked, straightening his back and instinctively reaching up one hand to feel the fabric of his tie. Apparently, he didn't know that it had become askew even more than compared to how it was in the morning when it was still acceptable.

"It's...," Nino couldn't help it, but he just couldn't allow Sho to leave it like that. "I'm sorry, may I fix it?"

Sho first backed off a little, surprised, when Nino came a step closer, however, when the secretary reached at the necktie and untied it carefully, Sho stood still and just let the other man do his job. Nino adjusted the piece of fabric around Sho's collar, taking extra care that the collar too was sitting perfectly in place, and tied it anew, carefully. It wasn't a big deal for him, doing variations of necktie knots – he had learned all of them from his father some years ago, however, it was a bit strange to do this for Sho, he had to admit. 

The sudden closeness was not only a bit strange for Sho, apparently, but also for Nino. While his own eyes were completely focused on the knot he was creating and his movement, when he afterwards adjusted everything to look perfect, he could feel Sho's eyes on him. It made him quite fidgety and so, Nino ended up glancing up, right into Sho's eyes. They were so beautiful, close up, that Nino's heart stumbled, and his body almost stumbled backwards over his own feet when he stepped back.

He could catch himself in the movement, pretending that nothing had happened, and quickly cleared his throat.

"OK, it's fixed," he managed to say.

"OK, good," Sho replied, just as simple.

 _He could say thank you or something,_ Nino thought but kept his mouth shut. Apparently, that word just wasn't used too frequently in Sakurai Sho's vocabulary.

"So, I'm going to drive," Nino started. "This should be our last task for today so if you want, I can drive you home after we visited the hotel and then call it a day myself. I would be happy to leave on time today, as I need to pay my mother a visit."

"I see," Sho nodded. "Well, I don't see a problem with that. However, I'd appreciate if you'd drive me back here, I came to work with Emily after all."

"With whom?" Nino frowned.

"My car," Sho stated, matter-of-factly.

"Your Ferrari has a name?" Nino wasn't even sure if he wanted to know the details.

"Yes, her name is Emily," Sho said, proudly.

"And she's a girl?"

"Got a problem with that?"

Nino shook his head. "Of course not," but honestly, he found it a little strange. Why would someone name their car, and then, with an English women's name? _After a woman even, perhaps?_

"Hah," Sho sighed, his lips turning into a smile as if he was thinking about something very pleasant. "Those were good times..."

Nino frowned even more. _Maybe his ex-girlfriend from his time in Europe?_ his brain suggested. _Shut up!_ he threw back, but, of course, now he couldn't get rid of that thought anymore and it poisoned his already bad mood even more. Great, that was exactly what he needed. Now he didn't only already get to know Sho's current girlfriend on the first day they met but also found out the name of his ex-girlfriend. Too much-unwanted information, thank you!

"Let's go," the secretary simply grumbled, speeding up his steps towards the elevator, so that Sho had actually tried to catch up with him.

They didn't talk about car names anymore that day. They drove without speaking at all, actually. While Nino was driving his nameless, normal grey car – after having to explain to Sho that Nino's choice of music in this car was not up for negotiation and that his father had always said the driver had the right to decide what to listen to – Sho was alternating between skimming through Nino's note and having his eyes glued to his phone screen, apparently texting with someone.

_Keiko, perhaps?_

Nino wondered.

_Or Emily!_

Nino shook his head, breathed in, and breathed out.

It wasn't his business with whom Sho was texting, so he tried to take his mind off that question and focused onto the soothing pan flute music, underlaid with the sound of the sea, instead, until they reached their destination.

At least, their visit at the "SakuHana" hotel branch nearby went better than Nino had feared, maybe because Sho had let Nino do most of the talking. Still, Sho left quite a professional impression this time, something that resembled much more the one Nino had expected from him in the first place. He even threw in a few names and data, so that Nino ended up assuming that Sho had actually looked at the material he was given. It was something! Maybe, this time he had not been as nervous.

They actually managed to finish their visit not too long after they got there, and so, even after driving Sho back to the office, Nino had enough time to reach his mother's place in time for dinner. Sure, there was some work left, but nothing was so important that it couldn't wait until tomorrow.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

The apartment of Nino's mother was located not far away from work, so it didn't take him too long to reach it. He parked his car on the side of the street, reached for a bag that he had placed on the passenger's seat and headed inside a mid-sized apartment complex. His goal – an apartment on the ground floor, its nameplate reading Ninomiya. He rang the bell to announce his arrival, but then pulled out his own set of keys on which he had also put a spare key to his mother's apartment. He let himself in, calling through the small corridor, just to be greeted back by his mother's cheerful voice coming from the kitchen. He pulled off his shoes and walked in.

When Nino reached the kitchen, the woman with dark brown, shoulder-length wavy hair welcomed him once more with a wide smile. Nino placed his bag on the kitchen table and stepped a bit closer to his mother, leaning down a bit to hug the woman sitting in her wheelchair who was currently searching for spoons in the cutlery drawer. She abandoned the spoons she just found in favour of reaching her hands up to her son's face and gently pulling it closer, so she could place a kiss on his forehead. Nino chuckled softly, happy about his mother's usual welcome gesture before he offered his help.

"I'm glad you're here in time for dinner," the woman said, smiling, and picking up the spoons from the drawer again, which she gave Nino with the request to put them onto the kitchen table. "I made fried rice with chicken and vegetables and as an appetizer, chawanmushi."

"I'm glad I didn’t miss that, it smells delicious," Nino replied with a smile as he went to get some plates from a low cupboard that he handed to his mother who then filled them with fried rice and placed a cup of chawanmushi onto each of them.

"I tried my best for my boy," Nino's mother laughed happily and then they sat down together and ate.

It's been just a few days since Nino's last visit. He usually tried to drop by at his mother's place as often as possible, at least twice a week for dinner, and sometimes in between, even if it was just to see how she was doing and if he could help her with anything. His mother was living in a small but fine, barrier-free apartment which was located on the ground floor of an apartment complex featuring several units of assisted living. There was even a small garden in the inner courtyard that she shared with the other tenants.

Thanks to the system of assisted living, Nino was able to relax while being at work, or when he spent time in his apartment. He knew that his mother was in good hands. There was always someone around who assisted her with whatever she needed help with, like with cleaning, cooking, but also things like bathing herself and alike. Things, that she wouldn't like to bother her son with, but felt more comfortable with a professional female caregiver. 

Of course, it had been a topic for her and Nino if she should be in his care or not. He would have gladly provided it, but things weren't as simple as that. When Nino's father was still alive, the family had managed to live together and it was sufficient to have someone come by and help out once a day, but since Nino and his mother were alone, and Nino was outside for work for the majority of the day, it had become necessary to face the situation differently.

Nino and his mother had found a good place for her here, thanks to a recommendation and a bit of financial support by Nino's boss. Like this, his mother could live by herself, not feeling like a burden, but still have help around all day long, in case something happened. Someone would look after her several times a day, take her outside for a walk and accompany her shopping if she wanted, every day. She could always spend time with the other people there and was never alone. This was the most important part for Nino, knowing that his mother wasn't lonely. As an added bonus, there were even regular doctors' appointments on her schedule, physically and psychologically, and ever since she came here, her condition was improving drastically.

"As expected, it tastes delicious, Mom," Nino said after almost inhaling the content of his cup of chawanmushi – the best chawanmushi in the whole world, in his opinion – before he added, "I bought some of your favourite cake for dessert, by the way."

"Cake?" His mother's eyes lightened up. "What's the occasion?"

"Besides the fact that I don't need an occasion to bring my mother cake," Nino started with a smirk, "I kind of wanted to celebrate that you're doing so much better recently."

"Oh, thank you, dear. You're too sweet," his mother replied, reaching one of her hands to her son's face to brush gently over his cheeks. They smiled at each other. "Soon, I might be able to let you take me for a short walk around the block, without my wheelchair!"

Nino beamed. "I can't wait for it! I'm so proud of you, Mom!"

"Thank you," the woman replied. "Now, let's eat up so we can get to the cake!"

Nino smiled and dug into his portion of fried rice, appreciating the crispiness of the rice while also praising the juiciness of the chicken meat pieces.

"Is there something troubling you, honey?" Nino's mother asked, suddenly, looking at her son, slightly worried.

She didn't need to ask if her son had had another rash recently, the redness of the skin on his neck from two days ago must still be slightly visible, and he didn't even bother hiding it from her anymore.

"Ah... it's just, work has been a bit challenging you could say. That's all," Nino replied, flashing a smile at his mother. He slightly loosened the collar around his neck and pushed it aside while stretching his neck, showing his mother how the situation currently looked like. "And I didn't scratch, see?"

"That's great, Kazu!" the woman smiled, nodding. "Your other problematic areas are OK too?"

Nino pushed back the long sleeves of his dress shirt, revealing his wrists to his mother. They showed some old scars from past rashes and probably were also a little redder than the rest of Nino's skin in that area, but there were no new scratch marks. He smiled and his mother sighed, relieved. 

They both remembered just too well the peaks of Nino's condition in the past, horrible rashes, followed by unbearable itching, especially around Nino's neck and on his inner forearms, all caused by immense mental stress coming from the sorrows his family had to deal with. 

Seeking out a doctor and dealing with the problem had helped a great deal to get hold of the situation, and even if there wasn't a real cure to it, Nino had learned how to contain himself from worsening the initial problems. He had also become much better in stress management over the years, even if recent days had been a little challenging admittedly. That was just how it worked, there were better phases and worse phases, but all in all, he was doing fine. He had this under control.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't mention it and draw your attention towards it," Nino's mother said. "It looks good, just a little red. You're doing a good job, preventing the scratching."

"Thanks, Mom, I try my best," Nino replied, rolling back down the long sleeves.

Still, a mother is always alert, so, of course, the woman did not let the topic slip completely. "So, is everything OK at work?"

"Yes, yes, just a bit different," Nino murmured while poking his rice with his chopsticks. "You remember, I told you that I'll be working with Mr Sakurai's son from now on?"

"You mean Sho-chan?" the woman smiled.

"That's not how I call him nowadays, but yes," the young man said, slightly blushing at his mother using his former nickname for Sho.

"Hasn't it gone well, your first meeting after years?" she asked, curiously.

Nino hadn't told his mother yet that he has already met Sho for a dinner party at his parents' place the former evening, and probably, he shouldn't. At least, he didn't want to mention the rash, now that he had been praised so much by her.

"It... I don't know, it's a bit weird, I guess? Let's say, things have changed, just as I probably should have expected," Nino said, trying to smile, even if he knew he must have failed.

Recalling the current situation and seeing how hard it still was for him to process and accept it, showed Nino once again how deep the cut actually was. He hadn't told Aiba the extent of his heartache yesterday, and he didn't want to bother his mother with it either, especially not since she probably didn't know about Nino's childhood crush, but it was hard to ignore. Somehow, he felt like he lost someone really important to him.

"Kazu?" The worried voice of Nino's mother came through the man's clouded mind.

He looked at her, this time not even trying to smile. "It seems, he forgot about me, Mom. Like... he doesn't remember that we have been friends when we were younger, at all."

His mother must feel his pain too, as she put her hand on Nino's shoulder and tried to comfort her son. "Oh dear, that's tough. I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's OK, we're just going to build a new relationship as boss and secretary now," Nino replied, nodding as if he needed to ensure himself about what he just said, in the first place. "It's fine. We just need to work a little on that."

"Sounds like it wasn't such a great first day?" his mother asked. "Don't you get along anymore? Or... I mean, don't you get along?"

Nino tilted his head. "I'm not so sure yet. He is acting quite strange and it seems he has no idea what he's doing. I also don't really know what to do. It's not that easy to adjust from working for one person for years to suddenly switch to another person... and to be honest, it's hard for me, this sudden gap between us. I know we come from different worlds, but I've never felt it so strongly before. We used to be such good friends..."

"It's just been his first day, right? And hasn't he been overseas for a long time?" Nino's mother waited until he nodded before she continued. "He probably doesn't have an easy time either. I heard about something called the reversed culture shock, so probably he has to deal with something like that. It's surely not easy to come back after spending years in a foreign country, having to readjust with his old home, his new job, and you. Who knows what he experienced during the years he was gone? And even if you have been friends, after years not seeing each other or talking to each other things can be a bit difficult at first."

Nino looked at her mother. He had to admit, what she said made total sense, and he had not even considered it. He had been so busy with his own confused feelings about Sho's return that he had not thought about how things must be for him. While Sho seemed to have changed so much in so many aspects, he had also emitted the feeling of having adjusted to his new – or old? – life already. Nino remembered how familiar Sho and his parents had been with each other, or how close Sho and Keiko had been after many years of absence – but probably, that was only how things appeared on the outside. He had no insight into Sho's feelings and his personal journey of coming back. Nino sighed. He probably had been too quick to judge. Not sensitive enough. This wasn't just about him, after all...

"Perhaps, he just needs a bit more time to warm up to you again. Maybe, you just need to be a little more patient with him. I'm sure it will be fine, sweetie. You two will grow together into a great team. You got along so well in the past, it would be strange if you didn't have the potential to rebuild such a bond also now, don't you think so too?"

Nino smiled at his mother, proud to be the son of a woman so empathetic and understanding towards other people's emotions. He should really take her as an example. He had never been sure if his mother had known about his feelings towards Sho when he was a young boy (he himself had not known that he had a crush on him, for a long time, so much for that), but he probably wouldn't be surprised, if she had. Back then, when his mother had been hospitalized, Nino had often talked to her about his little adventures with Sho. He had figured out that the more he told his mother about his daily life, about his friends, the happier the sick woman had been. Apparently, she had entirely understood the importance of Nino's friendship from those days, and she must know that the current situation was not easy to deal with for her son.

"I guess, you're right," Nino said, and he really did hope so. "Like always. That's my mother."

The woman smiled at him, gently. "You know, if you wanna talk about it, I'm always here for you."

"Thank you, Mom, really! For now, I'd rather you tell me more about that new project of yours that you texted me about during lunch break, though!" the young man chuckled, finally tackling the last bits of his dish.

"Alright, if you insist,” the woman laughed. “So, we are planning to sew patchwork quilts and sell them at the flea market to gain money for poor children."

"Mom, that sounds amazing!" Nino's eyes brightened when he heard his mother's plan. "That's such a lovely idea! Please make sure to make one for me too, so I can buy it as well!"

"Thank you, Kazu, I really appreciate that," the woman giggled. "I'll make one for you in all of your favourite colours!"

Nino chuckled. "Wouldn't that be a bit too flashy for a guy my age?"

"Apparently, it is important to surround yourself with things that make you happy, which includes colours. They can highly influence our moods," his mother started explaining. "That's what my doctor says, at least."

"Well, I guess I can't argue with that, then," Nino shrugged.

"So it'll be a five coloured rainbow blanket for my dearest son."

"I'm your only son, Mom."

The woman rolled her eyes but leaned closer to hug her one and only child. "Still, you are my dearest person in the whole world."

"So are you," Nino replied, hugging her back before they finally finished their meal and got ready to devour the cake Nino brought along.

\+ + +

Nino and Sho's first few weeks were bumpy, to say the least. Yes, Sho slowly seemed to get used to his position a bit more over the next few days and improved even more in the following time. He was definitely more insecure than Nino had expected, but Sho was smart, and it showed, and Nino was convinced that he would eventually adapt to the new situation. Even with just a glance onto Nino's notes for specific meetings, Sho seemed to be able to memorize things quite fast. He was able to draw conclusions between business concepts, budget breakdowns and PR strategies. He even had managed to memorize all the important facts he needed to know about several "SakuHana" hotel branches all over the country, in the course of his first week, as it was important for the heir of the Sakurai Group. 

However, Sho apparently still didn't quite know how to treat his subordinates appropriately. Thus, he continued to be kind of rude towards Nino, although sometimes it was hard for Nino to distinguish if Sho really meant it that way or if he was just poor at articulating himself.

Either way, these had been a few challenging weeks for Nino. It had been a lot of work regarding keeping things at work in order, as well as with his own stress management, and honestly, on Friday evening of a particularly busy week, Nino was so exhausted that he did not even feel like participating in Aiba's gaming session.

His friend had shown up about thirty minutes after Nino had dropped onto the couch in his apartment, drained and about to fall asleep if the doorbell hadn't rung. He hadn't even managed to get out of his working suit yet, so Aiba sent him into his bedroom to get changed, while he took it upon himself to serve the Chinese take-away food he had brought along and set everything up on the living room table.

It turned out that Nino was almost even too tired to eat properly, so it took him quite a while to finish his chicken noodles. Aiba had already started to play a game, this time nothing work-related, but just a simple Jump 'n' Run he had planned to play with Nino, but Nino just stared blankly at the screen, as if he didn't care at all what was going on there.

"Seriously, Ninomi, you look like you spent a whole month in hell," Aiba chuckled, as he paused the game and opened Nino's still untouched beer can for his friend.

"Close enough," Nino murmured as he munched on the last bite of chicken meat and put the empty takeaway box onto the coffee table in front of him, gratefully reaching for the beer and taking a sip before placing it back.

"Come on, it can't be _that_ bad," his best friend said with a grin on his face.

"At least, I know now why President Sakurai promised a bonus for taking over this new job," Nino sighed heavily. "His son is really a handful of work."

"You want to talk about it?" Aiba asked, turning towards his friend.

Nino leaned back. "It's just... I'm sorry, I'm tired and I'm pissed off and I don't know what to think anymore..."

"About Sho-kun?"

"Yeah, or, should I say _Sakurai-san_ as I am supposed to call him. By the way, it is so confusing having two Sakurai's at work, everyone throws around _Sakurai-san_ s here and there without saying if they mean the father or the son, it's pure chaos!" Nino started ranting.

"Don't you refer to the older one as President Sakurai?" Aiba asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, _I_ do," Nino replied. "But not everyone does, especially not when just talking casually about him. So, yeah, it drives me crazy."

"Calm down, Ninomi, everything will be fine," Aiba started, putting his hand on top of Nino's knee. "I know, you don't like it, but think about it, that's not the real problem, or is it?"

Of course, it was not. Actually, this was just a tiny little thing. Nino knew that he shouldn't care about it so much, however, his stress management had been lacking quite a bit recently and now it was the little things that managed to tick him off the most easily.

"I think you're just really disappointed, aren't you?"

"I guess, I am," Nino sighed again. 

He lifted his hand to his forehead, pinching the spot between his eyebrows. He rubbed his face. 

"I don't know but I can't stop thinking of it... How could Sho completely forget about me? I mean, didn't it mean anything to him, that time we spent together as kids? For me, it was such a precious time, it was so important... he has been my pillar when I feared that everything around me was about to collapse. And then, he left and just didn't bother at all to stay in contact with me?"

"How did that even happen, by the way?" Aiba threw in. "That you two weren't in contact for so long?"

"Well, he moved away," Nino shrugged, as if that said everything someone needed to know.

"Yes but, didn't you exchange numbers before he left?"

"When he left, I didn't have a cell phone. I only got one later on. And indeed, I gave him my number than when he came back during summer, and we even texted for a while but then, suddenly he stopped and when I realised I wasn't getting any reply anymore, I... just gave up one day?"

Nino sighed at the painful memory, the frustration, the despair, the wondering about what he might have said or done wrong that he had made Sho stop replying to him all of the sudden. He couldn't even remember their last conversation anymore, it's been so long and he had switched phones quite a few times since then, but he always had made sure to keep the same number, just in case Sho would reach out to him again... but he had been waiting for nothing. Even if assumed he had done nothing wrong back then, 15-year-old Sho surely had had much better things to do than stay in contact with his childhood friend. His life abroad must have been super exciting and busy... and so he must have ended up forgetting about his friend, and time had passed.

"That's a pity," his friend nodded thoughtfully. "Didn't you meet him again when he came back during the holidays after that? You could have talked to him, maybe there was just a misunderstanding."

"Not really. I heard that he came back a few times, but not for long and at that time, my mom was already out of the hospital and home again," the other man started explaining. "I didn't really leave our house during my spare time back then. I mean, I wanted to spend my time with her as much as I could, just in case she would become sick again."

"I understand where you're coming from, but this also means that apparently, both of you, you and Sho-kun did not really try that hard to see each other again, right? I mean, not to blame any of you as I don't know the exact circumstances from back then, but it sounds like things just happened and time passed and... so actually it's not really just his fault?"

Nino pouted. Wasn't his best friend supposed to be on his side in this? However, if he was honest, he couldn't say anything against Aiba's reasoning. He had just as much _done nothing_ as Sho had, and the older they got, the more awkward it would have felt trying to get back in contact. But then, maybe it really shouldn't have been a surprise to Nino that things were so strange now between them, after more than ten years out of contact. Of course, they would have changed, both of them, of course, they wouldn't be the same boys like back then.

"I am so stupid, right?" Nino eventually sighed. "It's my own fault that things turned out like this."

"Oh Nino... it doesn't help feeling bad about the past, shouldn't you try and focus on the present now? If he doesn't remember how it's been between the two of you, now it's the chance to start anew. I'm sure you can rebuild your friendship from back then," Aiba said, making guts pose.

Nino chuckled at his friend's sweet attempt to cheer him up, but sighed soon after, as the flash of hope was not enough to brighten up the situation.

"Start anew...," the young man murmured. "We're a boss and secretary, how are we supposed to become friends like that? It's more like a king and servant relationship kind of thing that'll be established here."

"Oh come on, don't be overdramatic, Nino! It's not like Sho-kun's father treated you like a slave, is it?"

Nino tilted his head. "No, you're right, he didn't. He always treated me very kindly."

"And he has been friends with your father for a long time," Aiba repeated the story Nino had been telling him quite a few times already.

"Yeah."

"That means, boss and secretary _can_ be friends."

Nino frowned and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "To be honest, I'm not even sure if I _want_ to be friends with someone like Sho. I mean, he's so different from back then..."

"Of course, he's different, how long has it been, over ten years!" his friend exclaimed. "I can't say for sure, because we haven't known each other back then, but you probably changed too, since then."

"I don't know. Maybe you're right. But it still feels so... weird. I can't forget about the past."

"Then let's try a different approach. Let's ask the important things for now," Aiba continued. "I know you like past Sho, that's out of the question and there's no need for you to deny it, nobody will believe you. However, more important now is how do you feel about present Sho? Why is it so hard for you to work together with him? Because of your past or because of your current situation?"

"I don't think that we can separate those things completely," Nino dared to point out.

"Maybe not, but for now, let's see, what exactly annoys you about present Sho?"

Nino hummed. There was a lot of things his brain came up with right now, even if some of them were hard to put into words and describe to others, as he probably didn't even understand them fully, himself. But he could try to summarize the biggest problems, at least.

"He acts weird," Nino started. "He's so different from how he used to be and he's treating me like an idiot? As if he wouldn't know how this relationship between the heir of a billion worth hotel chain and his private secretary is supposed to work."

Aiba nodded. "OK, so... why is this, because he doesn't know how to treat a subordinate? Or is it you who feels strange about it, because in your mind you are still hoping to be his friend, rather than his subordinate?"

Nino frowned at that question.

"Are you implying that I have a problem with being Sho's subordinate?"

"Well... even without your complicated past, it would be understandable if someone felt a bit weird working under someone who's just about their age when, before, they had been working for someone quite a bit older and thus having a completely different kind of relationship with their boss, right?"

"You really think that's the problem?"

"It could be, no?"

By now, Nino had lost track about what exactly his best friend was trying to accomplish with this conversation, if he wanted to make Nino forget about his past with Sho, or if he wanted him to try again becoming friends, or simply live with the situation, but no matter what, no matter how Aiba was trying to help him find a solution - _any solution_ \- to this complicated situation, and Nino really appreciated that. And maybe, Aiba had a point.

"Well... actually... it would make sense, at least. It's really a bit strange to let myself be ordered around by someone my age," Nino finally had to admit. "But that's probably just because I'm not used to it."

"Or because you still see each other as childhood friends," Aiba added. "Since you've been equals back then, you consciously or unconsciously want to be equals even now. But if your working relationship has to work out, you need to accept that Sho is your boss now. Even if he might be a crappy boss and still needs to learn some essential boss skills, at least if you accept your positions with each other, maybe you won't feel so stressed out about it anymore? You definitely care too much!"

"Do I?"

"You do, or you wouldn't be so irritated. Did you notice that you're touching your neck? Does it feel itchy?"

"What? Oh, I… didn't even notice."

Nino immediately pulled his hand from his neck. It was indeed feeling a little itchy, even if he had not focused on it. He must be more stressed than he even thought.

"I didn't scratch it, did I?" he asked his friend, who leaned a little closer and shook his head.

"Not yet. Maybe you should put some cooling crème on it, though, just in case," Aiba suggested. "You've been better lately but this is a sign that you _do_ care. Too much, Nino. It's only been your first few weeks together. It's normal that things are a little rough in the beginning, you have to get used to each other first, after all. You should give it a bit more time. And who knows, even if Sho-kun doesn't remember you now, maybe he will in the future?"

Nino chuckled, slightly desperate. "I am not sure if I want to hope for that."

"I understand."

"But I'll give you that I can't deny that all of what you said makes sense," Nino admitted, smiling at his friend. "Wow, I just realised how messed up this whole situation really is but you gave me some new perspectives that I should try to consider."

Aiba laughed. "I'm not completely sure if everything I said makes sense, but I want you to feel better about it. Now, let's not think about it too much anymore, OK? It's the weekend, we should enjoy our time and relax and have fun! So, if you still don't feel like gaming, what about we watch a movie together?"

Nino smiled even wider. "Sounds good."

He let Aiba choose what he wanted to watch, who picked a comedy on Netflix that his cousin had recently recommended to him. It was probably not what Nino would usually enjoy, but the light tone of the series and the funny dialogue between the characters made watching it a fun experience. That was, until about one and a half hours later, just when the story of the movie reached its climax, he and Aiba were disturbed by the sudden ringing of a phone, too far away to come from the living room, but also sounding too close to be one of the neighbours' phones.

"What's that?!" Aiba asked, completely confused, searching for the source of the noise.

"It's my work phone," Nino replied, frowning before he stood up and headed to his bedroom where he had dropped it before alongside with his working clothes. He brought it back, holding it up to show at Aiba. "You know, the one they gave me at work for when I'm on field service and need to make phone calls and such?"

"Why do you have it with you at the weekend?" Aiba frowned at him.

"For emergencies."

"So this is an emergency?" his friend lifted his eyebrows. "You should pick it up!"

"It's Sho," Nino mumbled after checking the phone screen, confused. "What kind of emergency could he actually have, he left the office before me this evening."

"I don't know, you will only find out if you pick up."

\+ + +

Only ten minutes later, Nino and Aiba were sitting in Nino's car, driving down-town. Of course, when Nino asked Aiba if he wanted to stay back and wait for him or accompany him quickly to pick up his boss, Aiba's curiosity of wanting to see that infamous best childhood friend slash crush – although Nino still tried to deny that one – slash bitchy boss had been too strong and so he had chosen to come with him.

Sho had sounded serious on the phone when he called him and asked him to pick him up from a certain address. The call had been short and his boss didn‘t even wait for Nino to reply to his request, and just ended their conversation by hanging up. Nino had stared at the phone screen, exchanged a confused look with Aiba, and then stormed into his bedroom to change from his pyjama pants into something more presentable, just in case, even if he had no idea where he was heading to and what was waiting for him.

He memorized the address Sho had told him, and immediately entered it into the navigation system of his car, just to find out, that it was actually an address pretty close to work, apparently just a few streets away from their office building. When they reached their destination, Nino recognized the location as an izakaya called "Akatsuki", a traditional Japanese bar, at least judging from the appearance. He frowned. He even was a little surprised, that he had never been there, but then, he never was the type to go out to eat after work, so he probably just wasn't the right clientele. Anyway, what kind of emergency could have occurred here? Did his boss drink and get into trouble or something?

"I'll be right back, wait here, OK?" Nino told his friend, trying not to sound too worried.

Aiba nodded and told his friend that he should call him if he needed something. Nino answered the nod, gratefully.

Quickly, Nino entered the izakaya, a comfortable looking, traditionally furnished place, divided in some semi-separé like spaces with low tables and floor cushions, and the bar area. The scent of grilled fish hung in the air and cheerful voices of customers filled the room. The colour scheme was a light brown colour for the wooden furniture, and white, with a deep, vigorous red and navy blue for the colour accents as in the paper doors between the separated places, traditionally inspired ink drawings as wall art or the noren hanging between the bar and the actual kitchen in the back.

Soon, Nino's eyes fell on someone sitting at the bar. He recognized the man, even if he was sitting with his back towards Nino. He had seen that suit at work today, and he probably would have recognized the back of Sho's head everywhere, just from walking three steps behind his boss, constantly.

Sighing, but trying not to judge the situation with just the first glance yet, Nino braced himself and started walking again, until he had reached Sho. It was hard to keep himself from drawing conclusions though when he saw his boss sitting there with a glass of whisky or something similar in one hand, his other hand pressed against his eyes. Nino's heart sank into his stomach at this sight. Somehow, Sho looked extremely troubled like that, and Nino couldn't help but get the impression that this probably was not his first glass tonight...

Before Nino could say anything, the barkeeper had arrived and searched for eye contact with the newcomer. The man couldn't be much older than Nino and Sho, but his aura omitted a sense of life experience and understanding of the world, that Nino could probably only dream of. His face was friendly and his smile calm, he even looked a little sleepy, Nino thought.

"You're here for him?" the man asked, nodding towards Sho.

"Well, sort of," Nino said.

"I'd ask you if you want to eat or drink something, too if I wasn't of the opinion that you should probably better take your friend home," the barkeeper said with a smile on his face. "I know it's not my place to say but..."

"Thank you," Nino replied nodding, immediately grasping the situation. He instinctively reached towards his pocket. "Did he pay for everything yet?"

The barkeeper nodded. "Everything's settled, no worries." He handed a glass filled with water at Nino, his eyes again wandering towards the sunken figure at the bar before looking back at the young man. "Good luck."

Nino frowned but nodded back at the friendly guy, who then vanished again to take care of other customers. Nino placed himself on the high school standing right beside his boss and it was only now that he directly addressed him.

"Sakurai-san?" he asked, first carefully, repeating the name a little louder when he realised the man wasn't reacting the first time. "I came here as fast as I could, what's wrong?"

"Everything's wrong...," Sho whispered and if Nino hadn't paid close attention to him, he might not even have heard it.

"Sakurai-san...," he started again. "Forgive me for being so direct but, you're drunk, aren't you?"

Surprisingly, the other man giggled. He pulled his hand from his eyes, and turned towards Nino, looking at him with, his eyes looking tired, his pupils dilated. "Sure, I am, Sherlock."

Nino slightly rolled his eyes.

"Do you feel sick?" he asked.

When the other man didn't reply, Nino hesitantly reached out to gently take Sho's hand off the glass he was still clenching. His fingers seemed slightly cramped, but the man didn't protest. For a moment, Nino felt tempted to just hold Sho's hands, maybe he needed it, but it would probably be too awkward for both of them, so instead, he pushed the glass of water the barkeeper had left with them, towards him.

"Maybe you should give this to me, I think you had enough tonight," Nino said. "Here, drink some water."

Sho looked at Nino, then to the glass of water. He took it, clenching it just as tightly as he could, and slightly shaking, he brought the glass towards his lips, taking a sip. Whatever had happened, Nino knew that something about Sho was definitely not OK, and no matter how awkward things had been between them for there few weeks since they have met, it made his heart ache to see his old friend like this. He wanted to help.

"I need you to bring me home," Sho eventually said. Surprisingly, he by far did not sound as drunk as he looked like. But then, everyone reacted differently to intoxication.

"Why didn't you call a taxi or one of the Sakurai family's drivers?" Nino asked, out of sheer curiosity. _Why did you call_ me _?_

Sho shrugged.

" _You_ are my driver, no?"

"I am your secretary," Nino corrected him.

Sho demonstratively rolled his eyes. "You drove me around the whole time, how am I supposed not to think that that makes you my driver?"

 _So that's why he called me?_ Nino didn't want to admit it, but for some reason, he didn't like Sho's reply. He scolded himself internally. Yeah, he wanted to help Sho, but it didn't mean he was fine with being treated like a servant! Well, what did you even expect? He didn't dare to answer his own question.

"Actually, it's just that I happen to think there's no need to hire a separate driver if I can drive you to meetings by myself," Nino retorted, though. Even if he knew that he probably shouldn't get stuck in this, he just couldn't let things be as they stood.

"You're a man who thinks very practically, Ninomiya-kun."

Nino had to admit, that he was low-key impressed that his boss in the drunken state he was in, was still able to voice such words as "practically" properly. Nino could have let go of it, but somehow, he wasn't ready to end this conversation yet, even if it would probably be so easy to just take his boss with him and drive him home. No big drama, just a ride home for a troubled man and he was free again. But that would be too easy.

"Was that supposed to be a compliment?" Nino asked, therefore.

"It was, indeed," Sho said, taking another sip from his glass of water. "Didn't it sound like one?"

Nino raised a critical eyebrow. "Since you're drunk, I cannot tell for sure."

Suddenly, completely unexpected, Sho leaned forward, coming so close to Nino, that their faces almost touched. Nino held his breath, as he could feel the warmness radiating from Sho's face, but didn't move.

"Would it sound better if I said that you have beautiful eyes?" Sho whispered in a deep voice. He looked at Nino, directly. He even looked serious.

Nino blinked. His ears twitched. His heart jumped a little. He swallowed. Where was his emo boss from just a minute ago, suddenly? And what was this, a drunken flirting attempt? A joke? Probably the latter.

"Sakurai-san... please stop joking," Nino said, releasing a slightly insecure chuckle. He tried to turn away, but Sho followed his motions so that their eyes stayed connected.

"What if I am not joking? "Sho said, his eyes focused and clear, and just for a second, Nino wished, Sho meant what he said.

"You are clearly drunk, and you are clearly joking," the secretary said, finally pushing himself from the high stool, backwards, to escape the closeness that was slowly but surely becoming uncomfortable. He cleared his throat. "Come on, I'll take you home."

"I thought you're not my driver?" his boss said, mischievously.

"No, but I'm driving you. That's why you called me in the first place, isn't it?" Nino wanted to scream internally.

Five minutes later, Nino had managed to drag Sho outside of the izakaya and onto the street. As articulated as Sho still seemed to be when drunk, his legs were not working properly anymore. Once Aiba spotted them, he immediately got out of the car and rushed towards his friend and the drunken man, helping to bring Sho to the open door and hauling him into the car.

"Aiba, may I introduce, this is my boss, Sakurai Sho," Nino said, as he took a deep breath after the short exhaustion before he made sure to fasten the seat belt around his boss' chest. "I'm sorry, but you need to sit in the back."

"Sure," Aiba replied and got into the car. 

While Nino walked around to the driver's door and opened it, he could hear his friend introducing himself to the man sitting in the passenger seat, who just growled something while trying to look behind him, but giving up.

"I hope he won't puke during the ride, he doesn't look so great," Aiba whispered to Nino, who just sighed before starting the engine.

"We'll bring him home and then we can return back to our movie," he said and Aiba nodded.

"What movie?" Sho asked curiously, but Nino ignored him.

Since Nino had picked up Sho from his home before – a small but chic house a few minutes ride away from Sho's parents, modern and big enough for a small family, surrounded by a big garden, even if not as beautifully planted as Mrs Sakurai's – he already knew the way. After parking in the driveway, as close to the house as possible, Aiba helped Nino to get Sho from the car into the house, Nino having to fumble in Sho's pants to search for his keys, something he would have loved to avoid, but here they were.

The secretary was a little surprised to find the house in huge chaos. Of course, he noticed already that his boss was a little chaotic, at work he used to throw papers together that Nino then had to sort again in their correct order and little stuff like that, but he wasn't messy and to be honest, Nino had expected Sho to have some sort of cleaning help or something to take care of his living space. But judging from the pile of shoes alone in the entrance area, as well as the tons of books and magazines that were piled up everywhere around the apartment, Nino wondered. Maybe, Sho had not completely moved in yet and this was how he temporarily stored his belongings until they found their destined spots, or, cleaning day was tomorrow.

Either way, they needed to find the way into the bathroom first, to help Sho wash his face and sober up a little bit, that much was clear. Luckily, Sho had not needed to puke during the ride – considering the pale look on his boss' face, Nino had really feared he would have to clean his car afterwards – so who knew what else awaited them now.

"Can you manage alone from here?" Nino asked Sho when they finally found the bathroom.

Sho didn't reply and leaned over the sink, turning on the tab and immediately taking a sip of water from his hollowed hand before he collected more water in it to splash it over his face. His movements were slow and clumsy, and his hands were slightly shaking. 

Nino felt a sting through his heart and he gave in to the urge of getting closer and putting his hands on Sho's waist, to offer him some sense of stability. Sho was still smelling strongly from alcohol, as well as from the smoke from the grilled dishes in the izakaya. No, there was no way he could manage by himself, or, at least, Nino didn't want to leave him alone like that. He didn't know what had pushed Sho to drink that much this evening, but somehow he could feel that his behaviour had not come from a happy place. Or was he interpreting too much from the situation?

When Sho announced he needed to use the toilet, Nino exited the bathroom to give him some privacy, not before searching for some hangover medicine in the mirror cabinet over the sink, though, which he took with him to the kitchen to prepare something for Sho.

"I can't leave him alone like that," Nino murmured, as he filled a glass of water for Sho. 

Aiba had followed him into the kitchen and simply nodded. 

"I mean, did you look at him?" Nino hoped he didn't sound as desperate as he thought, but he couldn't help it but worry about his boss.

"It's OK, Nino," Aiba assured him. "Let's get him to bed, first. Did he get sick?"

"Not yet. I'm not sure, maybe his stomach can handle the alcohol," Nino wondered. "I don't know how much he actually drank and how much he's used to."

He placed the glass of water next to a package of aspirin on a small tray he had found in one of the kitchen cabinets. While the rest of the apartment was chaos, the kitchen was spotless, except a few empty cups placed in the sink. Probably, Sho did not really make much use of it, Nino thought. Perhaps, he used to eat at his parents' or he went out for dinner.

"Do you think I should stay?" Nino asked insecurely, turned to his best friend. "I mean, he's all alone here..."

"You could if you want?" Aiba shrugged. "Do you want me to stay, too?"

Nino shook his head. "I don't want to keep you occupied. I don't want to drag you into my problems from work and I think I can handle it on my own. Sorry for the trouble."

Aiba shook his head. "It's OK. Then I'll take a cab. We can meet up tomorrow and finish the movie if you want?"

"Sounds good. I can pay the cab fee for you if you want," his friend offered.

"Don't be silly," Aiba chuckled. "It's fine. Are you sure, you're OK with this?"

Nino nodded. "It's fine. I just want to make sure he's OK."

"What a nice secretary you are, Ninomi!" Aiba said, crossing his arms in front of his chest and throwing a cheeky grin at his friend. "Or do I smell any ulterior motives here?"

"Now _you_ are being silly, we talked about this already," Nino replied, rolling his eyes. “Also, he's dead drunk, what could I probably want to do with someone like that, anyway?”

"I know, I know. I wonder, though," Aiba added in a serious tone. "Why did he call you and not his girlfriend if he needed help?"

"Because he thinks as his secretary I'm also his driver, apparently," Nino shrugged.

"Hmm," Aiba sighed. "Well then, I'm leaving now. Take care and keep me updated."

"Thanks, I will."

While Aiba retreated from the house, Nino searched the kitchen for something to eat that he could add on the tray. It was best to have something light for the stomach the morning after a night heavy with alcohol, to ensure that the medicine against the hangover wouldn't affect the stomach negatively, so he wanted to prepare something for Sho to have once he'd wake up in the morning.

When he carried everything into the bedroom, Nino was faced with more stacks of books and untidiness. There were clothes thrown everywhere, all the neckties Sho had been wearing over the week hanging over the backrest of a chair, T-shirts lying on the floor, a pile of worn socks in one corner of the room, the bed unmade.

Nino pushed aside some books on the bed's nightstand so he could place the small tray onto it, and then automatically reached down to the floor to pick up a crumpled jacket. He brushed over it and hung it over the backrest of the chair. It didn't look as if there was a wardrobe in Sho's bedroom, perhaps he had a separate room for that, but Nino did not want to go as far as to look for it. Instead, he proceeded to pick up some books that were spread over the floor, opened and upside down. He took care not to lose the page and either put in one side of the book's dusk jacket or made sure to put some bookmarks that he found lying in one bookshelf, into the books.

The young man looked around and then picked up a slim sized book, maybe a planner or a notebook, from the top of the bed that he wanted to prepare for Sho. It had also been lying open, face down on the crumpled bedsheets, and Nino was almost tempted to glance inside, just for a second...

"What are you doing?"

Nino startled, whirling around, and there was Sho leaning in the door frame.

"Sakurai-san!" Nino exhaled, trying to calm his sudden raised heartbeat from the surprise. "How do you feel?"

Sho didn't reply and instead stumbled closer, reaching his hand at the notebook and pulling it from Nino's hands. 

"Don't touch my stuff."

"I was just cleaning up a bit –" Nino started.

"I said, don't touch my stuff!" Sho repeated, this time more forceful. "You don't need to tidy up my private space, or does cleaning also belong to your tasks as my secretary?!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to –" suddenly, Nino frowned at the other man. Sure, he understood that he shouldn't lurk into private stuff, but did he need to be _that_ harsh about it? But Nino couldn't even finish his sentence when he saw that his boss was suddenly turning dangerously pale. "Sakurai-san, are you OK?"

"I'm feeling ill," his boss murmured, pressing his hands onto his mouth.

"Oh no," Nino sighed.

Then, he rushed towards Sho, heading back into the direction of the bathroom with him, where his boss leaned over the sink once more, this time retching, until he released parts of his stomach's content. Nino averted his eyes, but stayed close to Sho, instinctively reaching out his hand to rub soothingly over the other man's back. Thankfully, it didn't take long until Sho had calmed down. He made some disgusted noises before he rinsed his mouth with water and mouthwash, and straightened his body again. Nino's hand had never left Sho's back.

"Better?" Nino dared to ask, looking into the mirror, meeting Sho's gaze, who just nodded, wiping his lips. Nino nodded. "Come, let me help you get to bed, you need rest."

His boss did not object and allowed Nino to guide him back to the bedroom, where Nino once more picked up one last piece of clothes from the top of Sho's bed, and lead him to sit down. After asking where the man kept his nightwear, Sho just snorted and informed Nino that he used to sleep in his underwear, causing the young man to blush slightly and turn around once Sho started to peel off his clothes.

"Don't touch my stuff ever again, you hear me?" Sho murmured, slightly pouting, as he leaned back in his bed, allowing Nino to cover him with his blanket.

"I won't, don't worry," Nino replied, hinting a roll of his eyes. There was no need to be so aggressive. "Sorry, it wasn't my place to do that but if I may say, I'd recommend keeping your space a bit tidier. You could slip on one of your books while stumbling through your place in the dark or something..."

"I appreciate your concern," Sho replied, but he sounded sarcastic, implying that it indeed wasn't Nino's place to say anything.

Nino huffed. Was this Sakurai Sho's way to thank him for picking him up, dead-drunk from an izakaya in the middle of the night, although he was off duty? How nice!

"I prepared some light breakfast, medicine and a glass of water for you here," Nino pointed at the tray placed on Sho's nightstand, trying not to sound too grumpy, but the concern in his voice was gone, now. "Make sure to take it once you wake up in the morning. I was planning to spend the night on your couch so I could take care of you if need be, but it seems, you're doing pretty well already if you can scold me again, so, I probably should better leave now," he said, straightening up and turning around to leave the room.

"Wait!"

Warm fingers clasped around Nino's wrist, which caught him completely off guard. He froze, his breath hitched, and his heartbeat stopped. He turned around, just to be faced by his boss, who suddenly looked more fragile and desperate than he had ever seen him before. Nino couldn't bring himself to pull away from his hand. He swallowed as he felt his heart constricting. Then, after collecting himself again, he cleared his throat.

_Damned, why am I so weak when it comes to that idiot?_

"What is it?" he asked, calmly. "Do you need anything?"

"You… I –" Sho started, but it seemed he had not thought much further than that as he fell silent again.

Nino just looked at his boss, confused, waiting for more, but nothing came out of Sho's mouth.

Instead, completely out of the blue, Sho pulled at Nino's hand, strong enough to make the secretary stumble towards him until he came to sit on Sho's bed, almost crashing against the other man. Before Nino could jump up again, Sho had already reached out with his free hand and let it slip past Nino's face, to the young man's neck, and pulled him closer, with an outrageous amount of gentleness that Nino had just not expected, at all.

Nino couldn't properly process what was happening, Sho's hand in his neck felt as if it was burning his skin, his heart started racing when their faces came closer, and he almost forgot how to breathe.

When Sho's lips touched his, Nino's brain completely seized functioning.

Sho's lips felt soft and warm. Nino could taste the mouthwash that Sho had previously used. It tasted like mint. His fifteen-year-old self was internally screaming and ready to pass out while Nino's current self was just dumbfounded and unable to move.

Shortly after, panic flooded the young man's system, and because his body always tended to show extreme reactions, he didn't only drawback, shocked, but instead he pushed the other man backwards, heavy enough to cause Sho to bump against the headpiece of his bed, while Nino jumped up. Sho groaned, but didn't say anything, didn't yell at Nino, leaving space for the secretary himself to freak out completely.

"What was _that_?!"

Sho didn't reply and just slightly rubbed the back of his head.

"Are you _crazy_?! You can't just-!"

Sho still didn't reply. He didn't even look at Nino.

The secretary eventually pressed his hand against his lips, before he turned around and stormed out of Sho's bedroom. His heart was racing now, his breath hitching uncontrollably, and crap, he could feel it, his neck itching, even his wrists burning. He tried his best to ignore it, but it was impossible. Tears collected in his eyes, and he tried hard to get back control over his breathing, tried to breathe in and out deeply, but he struggled.

 _No need to freak out, it was just a kiss_ , Nino tried to convince himself, but his body had already fallen into full-force panic mode, with all its usual wonderful symptoms. _Just a stupid, drunk, meaningless kiss!_

He reached the bathroom and locked himself in. He pushed forward to the mirror, looking at his reflection. His face had turned red, so his neck. His wrists were itching. Everything was itching. His whole body. Nino's wrapped his arms around his torso, the pressure around his ribs only soothing the itchy feeling underneath his clothes unsatisfactory, but he could clinch the fabric there with his fingers to prevent them from moving to the more obvious spots where a rash had already broken out and started to spread. Damned.

 _Just a stupid, drunk, meaningless kiss from your stupid boss!_ Nino yelled internally.

If he could just see it like that! Things would be so much easier, then. But even if he technically _knew_ it, what he _felt_ was something completely different, obviously.

 _Breathe._ Nino breathed in, and out, shakily. The grip around his body loosened.

_Relax._

"Funny!" Nino snorted at his mirror image between short breaths. "Very funny!"

_Don't scratch._

Too late! Cursing, Nino forced himself to pull his hand away from his neck, clenching his fingers together tightly. It took all of his will power not to let go and allow his fingertips to get back to the affected area, to run over the irritated skin, to try to find relief. He knew he could do it. He had managed before.

_Breathe._

Yes, breathing. Nino should try not to lose focus, instead, he should try to redirect his focus. Onto breathing. It was a simple thing to do. He closed his eyes and tried to visualise it. He could just inhale and exhale all the stress, and things would calm down. This was just an initial excessive body reaction to stress, to a shock. A reaction his body had developed over years, but it didn't mean he couldn't fight it. Nino breathed in and out, in and out, trying to forget Sho and the kiss and the emotional turmoil this was putting him through. Once he got over that, things would calm down. He could still think about this later on, for now, the most important thing was to resist the urge of scratching and to will the itching away to not cause any more actual damage to his body. He could do it!

And it seemed to work, eventually. Nino's racing heart slowed down, his breathing became more relaxed, naturally, without having to force it, and the itching subsided, thankfully.

Nino sighed. Now that things were back under control, Nino could focus on first aid treatment. He inspected his neck. There weren't many scratch marks, he had only scratched for a tiny little bit. It could have been way worse. 

Nino pulled out his hand towel and followed the usual routine. Drenched it in cold water, gently patted the cool wet cloth against the most affected areas – his wrists, the right side of his neck, his face. Repeated the whole action, until he felt refreshed and the initial hotness of his skin had calmed down. He took his small bottle of soothing aloe vera gel from his trousers' pocket and carefully applied some of it on his skin.

Nino released a heavy breath. His body felt better. The gel would help the healing process. Everything would be as good as new, nobody would even see anything. What was still remaining though, was the mental side of the whole problem.

Like always, after such an intense reaction, Nino felt ashamed. It wasn't even a matter if anyone saw him like that or not, but the fact alone that his body was reacting this way to stress made Nino feel weak. As if he lost to something.

It was one thing to be ticked off from being kissed by one's former childhood crush, with whom they now had a more than a complicated relationship, maybe it would tick off anyone. However, it was a different thing to have one's body react to that so strongly. It was exhausting, it was embarrassing, and Nino hated it. He knew it wasn't his fault, not entirely. His condition had manifested over the years since he was a child. It was his body's way to manage stress. It wasn't the best way to do it, it wasn't the healthiest way to do it, but it was what it was and Nino had to live with it.

Nino tried to remember the words of his therapist. There was no need to feel embarrassed. Every person was different. Everyone's body was different. Some people's bodies reacted stronger to emotional stress than others. And emotional stress was something very personal. It wasn't about weakness. It was nothing to be ashamed of. The only thing left to do was trying to learn how to cope with stress better and to redirect thoughts. To focus on staying relaxed. To not worsen the symptoms of one's condition. It could be OK. It _would_ be OK. 

It was OK.

Once Nino felt ready, he left the bathroom again. When he stepped into the empty corridor, he hesitated for a moment. He considered checking on Sho again, just to see if he was doing OK, after all, that was why he was here in the first place, but in the end, he was a coward and trusted that Sho was enough of a grown-up to handle the consequences of excessive alcohol consumption by himself.

So, Nino left. He got back into his car, started the engine and drove away. His cell phone was connected to the hands-free speaking system of the car, and he used voice recognition to dial Aiba's number. He wasn't sure if his friend had already reached home, but the chances were high.

 _"Nino?"_ he could hear Aiba's slightly confused voice through the speakers.

"Aiba, I'm driving home now, so if you still want to finish watching that movie…," Nino started, not wanting to drop the bomb right away.

 _"What?"_ But who was he trying to fool? _"I thought you wanted to stay over at your boss' house. What happened?"_

"I might have just lost my job, I think," Nino said, yeah, still beating around the bush, but the thought just actually occurred to him and he needed to get it out before it started eating him up from the inside.

_"What are you talking about?"_

"I... Oh my gosh, I can't even believe it," Nino murmured, trying not to get lost in the memory again, or at least not in the emotional tornado he had just managed to get under control. "I panicked!"

_"You panicked? What do you mean?"_

"I pushed him and ran away!" Nino exclaimed.

_"Why did you push him?"_

"I'm so fired..."

 _"Nino!"_ Aiba pressed, pulling his friend back to the conversation, who immediately started rambling.

"I pushed him because he kissed me! I mean, he's completely drunk so, I don't know what he was thinking, maybe he was mistaking me for his girlfriend or he is just really, REALLY drunk and does things like that when he's drunk? I mean –"

 _"Stop Nino, stop, you're too fast, I can't follow!"_ Aiba interrupted him. _"So, he did WHAT?!"_

"I know, right?!" Nino's grip around the steering wheel tightened. "And I completely freaked out!"

_"You don't say!"_

"Aiba, what shall I do?!"

_"First, calm down. Are you still in the car? It sounds like you're in the car. You shouldn't be driving when you're worked up like this! Calm down first."_

"I _am_ calm!" Nino retorted, trying not to yell.

_"Then I don't want to know how you are in your freaked out state."_

"Aiba!" Nino knew his best friend just meant well, so he glanced at the tachometer and adjusted his driving speed a little bit, slowing down.

_"Sorry, you know I didn't mean it. Are you OK? Did you –"_

"I have it under control!" Nino said, not trying to think about his fit. "Well, back under control."

 _"Oh, Nino,"_ Aiba sighed, but didn't delve into the subject. Instead, he did what Aiba always did – tackle the issue and search for a positive approach. _"OK, let's try to think this through. Your boss drunk-kissed you and you pushed him. Did he say that you're fired?"_

"No... he didn't say anything," Nino replied.

 _"So, technically, you are not fired!"_ Aiba announced cheerfully.

"Yet," the other man took the weight out of his friend's perception.

Aiba ignored it, both of them knew he was right, technically, anyway. Instead, he branched out for a bit. _"By the way, how was it?"_

Nino frowned. "How was what?"

_"The kiss?"_

"Aiba! That's definitely not the important part right now!" Nino declared although he could feel his cheeks flushing.

 _"But isn't it the part you initially freaked out about?"_ When Nino didn't reply, Aiba seemed to take his silence as agreement. _"OK, back to the firing topic. You see, if your boss kissed you and you were not content with that, it's your right to act against that. And that's no reason for him to fire you, isn‘t it against the law, even? Come on, you're better informed about stuff like that than I am."_

"Theoretically not, practically... people can get fired for anything," Nino replied.

_"Then you need to turn the situation to your advantage."_

"And what exactly do you mean by that?"

_"You could threaten him to tell his girlfriend if he tries to get you fired. She might not like to hear that her boyfriend is kissing other men."_

"Whoah, that's mean," Nino said.

_"But it will keep him from firing you in case he really tries to. So? Doesn't that sound like at least like a usable back-up plan?"_

"Somehow."

 _"Good,"_ Aiba replied. _"Now forget what happened tonight, you can't change it anyway, so just ignore it. Distract yourself and you can deal with the situation on Monday at work."_

"But what if I can't even look him in the eye when we're in the office?" the secretary asked.

_"Relax, Nino. Pull yourself together. Don't forget why you're holding up with this in the first place."_

Nino took a deep breath. He swallowed.

"Because of my Mom. So I can pay off our debts and she can live without worries," the young man repeated what he always told himself when things at work got a little tough.

And like always, it worked. Especially, when he thought about how his mother just recently told him how much she enjoyed living in her apartment. He didn't want to cause any change to that.

 _"Exactly. Never forget about that!"_ Aiba chimed.

"OK," Nino breathed out heavily. He got this! "I'm almost home now, by the way."

 _"Continue watching the Netflix movie. I'll watch the ending with you in parallel, just say when you're ready. And afterwards, do some meditation and go to bed, it's late and don‘t you want to go visit your mother tomorrow morning?"_ Aiba suggested, thoughtfully.

Nino nodded to himself. "You're right. OK. Sounds good. Thank you!"

\+ + +

Back at home, Nino tried to follow his best friend's suggestions. He called him again and while hanging out together on the phone, they watched the ending of the Netflix movie. It was good to have Aiba on the line, Nino had to admit. That man was his safe place. He couldn't even put into words how grateful he was for Aiba's kindness, his continuing support and his endless patience with him. Nino knew he wasn't always easy to be with, especially, with his tendency to overthink and worry or when his anxiety was getting the best of him. But Aiba had always accepted him and tried to help him.

The movie's ending was good and the two men kept talking for a bit longer about it, before Aiba yawned into the phone receiver and Nino chuckled softly.

"I guess I should better let you go to sleep now."

 _"I guess that would be good,"_ Aiba replied, yawning once more. _"Can I leave you alone? Are you OK now?"_ he added, worried.

"I'm fine, thank you," Nino replied. "I'm sorry for keeping you up so long. And sorry for... that whole mess."

_"It's fine, Ninomi, you know, I'm always here for you."_

"You're the best, seriously," Nino smiled. "Sleep well."

_"You too."_

They ended the call and while Aiba was surely dropping to bed, instantly, Nino was heading to the bathroom, to get ready for bed too. Soon after, figuring that reading might help him get tired, he found himself back with the black journal that he used to keep on his bedside table recently, in his hands.

Actually, he had read it through by now, for quite a while, even. He had read every single poem, every single short story and all the thought snippets that were written in there. He was able to find specific parts of it very quickly when he was searching for some passages to re-read and even had started to take notes on some of the works, writing down his own thoughts or small messages to the author, praising his staff, even if they were actually just for Nino's eyes.

By now, he had almost given up on finding the one who wrote the journal, as there were no hints in the book that gave away any information about the writer himself, at least nothing like a name or an address or even specific places. Some descriptions were really vague, others read like they were from faraway countries. It all seemed to be sprung from the very vivid imagination of whoever wrote this. Nino's only hope, for now, was that maybe, one day that person would come to the park again to search for the lost journal, but so far, nothing.

Nino flipped through the pages, searching for a specific section. He probably shouldn't re-read _that one_ out of all of the pieces, right now, but his brain didn't leave him another choice. So here he was again.

_What is a kiss?_

_A touch of lips?  
A touch of souls?_

_Fragile like a butterfly.  
Wild like a storm.  
Deep like an ocean._

_A gesture of goodbye.  
A gesture of affection.  
A gesture of intimacy.  
A gesture of love._

_A kiss is something treasurable, something to treat with care.  
Only an honest kiss will make your heart bloom._

"Exactly!" Nino called out, without even noticing. "That's how a kiss should be. Not some sloppy drunk kiss to irritate other people!"

The memory of Sho's kiss was back again. Nino closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He frowned and tried to will his thoughts away, but they were persistent and he was helpless against them. He remembered the lost look in Sho's eyes, he remembered the burning hot touch of Sho's hand on his neck, pulling him closer... the taste of mint on Sho's full and soft lips.

Nino cursed silently. Of course, now he couldn't just forget about that kiss. Of course, he was thinking of Sho now, again. Of course, his heart was racing.

If Nino had ever imagined how it would be like to kiss Sho, and yes, maybe he had, this definitely would not be it. He had imagined it to be something sweet, something gentle, innocent... something he had dreamed about since he was a teenager.

Nino's cheeks warmed at the imagination, but his heartfelt strange, as if it got a little broken once more. The man could feel his tears starting to form, and he had to pay attention, not to give in to the stress. He really should have read something different at such a time, why had he been so stupid?

The man calmed himself down with a few deep breaths and then grabbed a piece of paper and a pen from his bedside table and wrote down his exact same thoughts from before, just to give air to the tiny bit of anger he was feeling. He left the paper in the journal and put it away. It was time to try to sleep over the whole thing and forget about it. Tomorrow would be a new day, a better day

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

Somehow, Nino had managed to catch enough hours of sleep to not feel completely crushed the next morning. This didn't mean that the memory of last night did not hit him like a slap in the face when his grey cells started to wake up. The image was still too clear, and it was as if the feeling of Sho's hand on Nino's neck never left him completely. The thought of their _kiss_ still stirred a mix of emotions inside Nino, who needed a good deal of deep breaths so he didn't freak out all over again.

Nino quickly stood up and decided to try to get rid of his thoughts in a cool shower, something he had come to really enjoy, because it felt good on his irritated skin, and then get ready to spend the day with his mother. 

Last time when they had dinner at her place, he had promised her to take her on a walk through her neighbourhood, through the nearby park and to the local mall for a small shopping trip and to invite her to a cup of coffee and a piece of cake. Nino needed to be available via his working phone during weekends, just in case, but in general, he could spend quite a normal, workless weekend like most office people. He was grateful for that. He could at least spend one whole day like this with his family, once in a while.

His mother seemed to have had an eventful week. She told Nino about her and her groupmates' progress on their patchwork project but also told him that she still wanted to buy some new fabrics for that, especially because she did not manage to find matching ones for Nino's favourite five colour rainbow quilt yet. She also needed to get a new book for her Sunday book club, as she admitted she had forgotten to put her name down on the list of people who needed to order the book for their next reading during the last meeting and so now she had to take care of getting a copy by herself. Oh, and of course, there were plans for dinner tonight, what would Nino want to cook together with her?

Nino was happy to hear his mother talking so lively about everything. He definitely had seen her in way worse shape, mentally and physically, in the past. She had been very weak during her period of illness when he was younger, to an extent that he and his father had feared they might lose her. 

It had been back then when Nino's condition had first started to break out, out of the sheer panic of losing his dear mother at a young age. He wasn‘t ready to let her go, he loved her just too much. Of course, he still did. She had improved immensely thanks to the great care from the hospital's doctors that President Sakurai had suggested admitting her to. Although her body had always been frail since then, her bones fragile and her muscles weak, she was able to live a fine life in the care of those who loved her. However, things became worse once more when Nino's father had fallen ill unexpectedly some years ago, and the fact that _he_ had not been able to recover, had broken the poor woman's, and her son's, heart. 

The woman became depressed, and for Nino alone, who had a great deal to do, and to handle his own psychological aftershock from his father‘s eventual death, it had become too much to take care of her. They searched for help, found it, and she recovered, once more. Now, the woman was happily talking about dinner plans with her son and which fabrics she wanted to buy. It wasn't like she or Nino had forgotten about his father, no, but they had learned to deal with his absence without forgetting the precious memories they had of him.

The young secretary had almost forgotten his most recent sorrows over his mother's cheerful talking, however, the backlash was inevitable when just before lunch, Nino received a message on his work phone. Of course, it was from Sho.

Nino swallowed, considering if he should even open it or just ignore it for a couple more hours. It probably wouldn't be a work-related emergency, but rather have to do with last night, and he was not sure if he was ready to talk about that in any way with his boss. If he was indeed about to get fired now for his behaviour the previous night, he didn't want to know, at least not while he was having such a good time with his mother. He couldn't allow anything to ruin the mood. In the end, though, he ended up so distracted and unfocused that his mother couldn't hold back any longer and asked him if he was feeling ill. So in order to gain back his focus, he needed to check Sho's message.

When he finally opened it, Nino's first reaction was pure relief. The message was much more harmless, than he had expected, to be honest. More than that, it was an open door to an excuse and hell, Nino would be stupid not to go through that door.

_"Hello, Ninomiya-san. This might sound weird, but I just saw that I called your work phone last night. I can't remember why, did something come up?"_

If Sho wasn't testing Nino or anything, this message rather implied that his boss probably couldn't remember what had happened the previous night, _at all_ , which was possible, given the amount of alcohol the man had probably consumed. Nino released a short sigh before he started to type his reply. He decided to play along with the situation and only tell the necessary minimum of what had happened.

"Hello. You called me to pick you up from an izakaya as you had one drink too much there and couldn't drive by yourself and so I drove you home."

Yeah, that should suffice. It wasn't even exactly a lie, right? Nino hit the send button and was about to pack his phone away again when it buzzed once more.

_"That's it?"_

Nino swallowed. He brushed away the resurfacing memory of Sho's lips on his and his reaction of pushing him. He tried to stay calm, breathe normally.

"That's it," he simply replied. Shortly after, another buzz of his phone.

_"Then I guess, you can't tell me where the bump on the back of my head comes from?"_

Ohhhhh crap. Nino blushed slightly. What now?!

_Sorry for pushing you! Sorry for lying to you!_

No, he wouldn't text Sho that part, but he truly was.

"No, I don't know. I'm sorry."

Hopefully, his boss would just believe him that there had been nothing more and leave it at that.

And he did.

_"I see. Anyway, sorry for the inconvenience. See you on Monday."_

Nino was truly relieved, but also immensely confused. Not only by the fact that his boss had just _apologized_ to him, something that Nino had thought that this new Sho wasn't even capable of, but in general.

OK, so Sho didn't remember the kiss. Fine. That was good, right? It meant Nino could really follow Aiba's advice and simply pretend that it never happened. If Sho couldn't remember, there was nothing embarrassing to talk about, and Nino could just try and forget it as well.

But would he be able to do so? It obviously had not left him unaffected, or he wouldn't have had such a strong reaction towards it in the first place. He tried to think logically. What did this mean for him? Had it just confused him? Did he wish it never happened? Did he wish it to happen _again_ , like Aiba surely would suggest? 

Nino slightly shook his head. Something felt a little off though, even if he couldn't completely grasp what it was. Did he want Sho to remember what happened and to address it properly? Because like this, wouldn't it haunt him? Nino couldn't tell, honestly. Still, he knew that for some reason, even if he was relieved that his job seemed to be out of danger at least, he wasn't truly happy with the whole situation.

Of course, his mother had noticed that something was wrong, but Nino didn't feel like telling her the embarrassing story of Sho's drunk kiss and his resulting rash. She must have noticed something anyway because her eyes sometimes lingered a little longer on the red spot on Nino's neck, who had tried to cover it a little bit with the fabric of his hoodie but probably did not really succeed. She must have realized that he didn't want to talk about it – at least not now – and respected this. Nino knew he could go to her with all his sorrows when he was ready, and probably, he would, just not right away. He didn't want to worry her, and he first needed to proceed everything on his own. He still had Aiba to freak out to, who was always happy to lend him an open ear, even in the middle of the night.

Smiling, Nino assured his mother, that just now, a work issue had been solved in a positive outcome – which was true, considering that he would not lose his job because he had pushed his boss – and that they could now continue enjoying their Saturday. His mother agreed, and soon, they were sitting in a nice comfy café having lunch.

\+ + +

After Nino's joined Saturday with his mother and a fun gaming session with Aiba on Sunday, the new week came far too quickly for the young man's taste. As expected of him, he was in the office early, the first thing he was doing – checking Sho's schedule overview for the whole week and confirming that all of the important meetings were also recorded in the company's internal calendar so that people knew when the aspiring vice president was available and when not – and then, preparing a hot drink for his boss.

Regarding the fact that there was a meeting scheduled at ten, and because Sho still seemed slightly uncomfortable with those, Nino decided that it was best to go with tea first and to promise some chocolate coffee for later. 

Sho did not dare to argue with him when he showed up around an hour before the meeting, slightly panicked about what he needed to be briefed for, as it seemed he had completely forgotten about the meeting over the weekend. Nino brought his boss a stack of notes as well as the tablet with a cup of nerve soothing chamomile tea and some biscuits his mother had made. Nino didn't know if it was him being well prepared, or the sweet treats that seemed to please Sho, but he guessed, it was the latter.

Generally, things were still slightly awkward between them. Apparently, those few weeks of working together had just not been enough for them to fully get used to each other's habits yet and their dynamic as a team was still a little rough. They would still need to continue working on that, Nino thought. No matter how he might feel about the whole situation with his disappointment over Sho having forgotten him, no matter if they still needed to improve their teamwork, he did not plan to slack at this job. They would make it work. Nino almost even managed to forget the _kiss_ from Sunday night... OK, that was a lie, but he was ready to pretend that it never happened so that it wouldn't stand between them.

The scheduled meeting was taking place in one of the conference rooms of the office and was supposed to be the first meeting for a new big project between the Sakurai Group and the almost just as renowned Matsumoto Group, which originally had been the former's biggest rival when it came to building and managing hotels in Japan. Recently though, there had been talks between the owners of both companies, to join forces for a project bigger and better than anything each of them had ever dealt with.

While the Sakurai Group was known not only for their most famous "SakuHana" hotel chain, a modern, Western-inspired type of hotel, aspiring to not only cover most of Japan‘s bigger and middle-sized cities but also to spread over the country's border to branch into other Asian countries (they had just recently finished building a hotel at Ubud, Bali, which was about to go into business, soon), the Matsumoto Group's approach was different. Highly traditional and especially famous in more rural areas, the company was operating a large number of branches of their "Murasaki Yashiki" ryokans all over Japan.

"Hana Yashiki".

That's the name, the two companies had come up with for a joint hotel chain concept. They aspired a mix of Japanese traditional and modern Western style, in order to provide the best comfort but also cherished traditions, and appeal to a wider range of customers, especially young tourists from foreign countries, who were equally interested in their well-known Japanese style, as well as the typical Western comfort.

The heads of the Sakurai Group and Matsumoto Group had decided to leave this project to the next generation. They hoped that their youth, as well as the experience the two heirs had collected during the past years, would benefit the project. On the one hand, they got Matsumoto Jun's experience in Japan, and on the other hand, Sho's experience that he collected over in Europe. It was the perfect mix of cultural knowledge, exactly what was needed for this project.

It was a promising concept grounded on good basics, but apparently, the two heads of the team seemed to have slight differences in their visions, or, they simply didn't like each other. Nino had gotten strange vibes from both of them, at least, and the glares that Sho and Jun had been shooting at each other, could have killed.

Probably, it was not too helpful that Jun had been way better prepared than Sho. It didn't show too much because Sho was not completely unprepared, but Nino needed to cover for him a few times, and it always drew Jun's attention towards the secretary, which made both, Nino and Sho, a little embarrassed, even if for different reasons. While Nino felt a bit flattered, Sho seemed not as amused by the situation. Therefore, Jun seemed to have fun and kept focusing on Nino more than on Sho. So much so that eventually, it even became quite uncomfortable for Nino because he wasn't used to that much attention, and Sho's mood went downhill over the next hour of the meeting.

Jun's own secretary, on the other hand, a pretty young woman called Inoue, did not essentially take part in their conversation, and rather seemed busy with taking notes throughout the whole meeting. The talking was just from Jun on their side of the table.

Actually, both, Sho and Nino, already knew Jun quite well. First, Nino had seen him on several events featuring successful businessmen, as he was accompanying Sho's father quite a number of times to such parties in the past. Then, when it came to Sho and Jun, they had been friends, well, probably acquaintances or friendly rivals, in the past. There was even a number of times that they had been playing together as children and that wasn't everything.

Jun and his group of friends from back then also had a history with Nino. Not such a pleasant one though, because Jun and his sidekicks seemed to have quite a problem with Nino, the poor kid, joining them in play, and apparently didn't understand why Sho was even wasting his time on someone like him.

Well, Nino had been happy to tell them that he and Sho had been much better friends than Jun and his followers. However, he also remembered that that meeting had not ended without a bunch of black eyes and bleeding noses. Ever since, whenever Jun and his friends bullied him, Sho made sure he was there to protect him. Nino was convinced that Sho would not remember that part of their past, as obviously, he had erased Nino from his memory. Honestly, Nino had a hard time not to feel badly hurt at the fact that while Sho had lost his connection with Nino, he apparently seemed to still remember his rival from his childhood days.

Jun himself seemed to remember every little detail, at least he had made sure to tell Nino so when they happened to meet at an event a few years ago when the latter was just new to his position as President Sakurai's private secretary.

The heir of the Matsumoto Group had grown up from a hyperactive average looking kid with too big teeth for his face into a fine, handsome man of above-average size, hair dark and shining like polished wood and soft skin, dotted with beauty marks. To say that he had become an attractive adult was an understatement and, of course, Nino, as someone who was drawn more to the male than female gender, had not been able to ignore that fact. But not only Jun's body had grown up over the years, but also his mind had matured and so had his behaviour.

"Aren't we all grown up now?" Jun had asked Nino back then, forcing him to clink glasses. "I think we should forget about our past differences and accept each other as part of the same business world now. I am very sorry for my childish behaviour back then, I hope you aren't resentful?"

Well, which choice did Nino have? And even if there were painful memories, Nino also always remembered how Sho had protected him, and it had made him feel stronger, and every kind of fear he might have experienced when facing Jun and his gang in the past had vanished. He had grown out of being scared by others. He had learned that even though he might be different or have a different background, he was as worthy as a human being, like everyone else. And Jun was right, they were adults now. So he had accepted the apology and had given Jun a second chance.

Nowadays, there was no problem with them. Nino was polite anyway when it came to business partners and the likes, Jun seemed to be a professional too, at least as far as Nino could judge from their first professional meeting. Sho tried his best too. He even seemed more passionate this time, although, or maybe _because_ he was faced with his somewhat-rival-soon-to-be-business-partner Jun. Nino would take any reason if it would make his boss fired up. He wanted this project, Sho's first project, to be a success, after all.

So far, they were only at the stage of discussing first ideas and bringing to the table what each party had to offer from past experiences, taking notes of ideas that bloomed in the midst of conversations and discussions, but there weren't many details in the debate yet. Things like design ideas and more specific parts of the project would come up later and involve more professional staff, after collecting and painting the first vision of the two main people in charge. So, the meeting did not take too long this time and they were finished way before lunch.

As it was Sho's responsibility, he thanked Jun and his secretary, Mrs Inoue for coming to their office, confirming that the next meeting would take place in the headquarter of the Matsumoto Group. They had agreed on switching between the two offices for that purpose in the future. He guided them out of the meeting room, Nino right beside him, bowing at their guests.

"It's been good to see you after such a long time, Ninomiya-san," Jun said when he was about to go through the door and extended his hand to shake Nino's, who was perplexed but complied. "When did we see each other last time… must have been last year's international hotel fair."

"Most likely, yes," Nino agreed.

"It's the first time we are working with each other. I have to say, I'm impressed by your dedication and knowledge," the other man continued. For a split second, he glanced at Sho before looking at Nino again, flashing him his charming trademark smile. "Seems you're the smart one of your team."

"What?! No!" the secretary immediately exclaimed, feeling heat rushing to his cheeks. He quickly looked at his boss. How embarrassing! "I am just doing my job to support Sakurai-san as best as I can."

Sho looked at him, frowning. He didn't look particularly mad, but he seemed unsettled by Jun's strange approach of praising Nino, while at the same indirectly putting down his actual rival.

Turning towards Sho, Jun then added, "That's a fine secretary you've got there, Sakurai-san. I hope you treat him well."

"Excuse me?" Sho raised his eyebrows. 

He seemed extremely irritated by Jun praising his secretary as if he expected another side blow hidden within the compliment. Well, Nino couldn't exactly blame Sho for that. He had already noticed Jun's sleekly way, the manipulating speech he used, and how he tried to hide all of that beneath his charm. If he just practised this a little more, Nino was sure that soon, Matsumoto Jun would be able to twist anyone whoever he wanted or needed around his little finger. It seemed to be a skill that – surprisingly – Sho seemed to lack so far, to draw the contrast in the picture.

"You know, my own secretary shortly announced that she is pregnant –"

Nino's eyes widened and he immediately turned towards the woman, who had automatically broken into a proud smile. "Oh, congratulations, Inoue-san!"

"Thank you, Ninomiya-san," she said, brushing a string of hair behind her ear.

"Anyway," Jun continued, "This means that in a few months, her position will be vacant for some time. So, in case you are interested in a change –"

Nino raised his eyebrows in honest surprise. He was about to open his mouth and say something, but Sho was faster, taking a step in front of Nino as if to shield him.

"Could you please not try to hire _my_ secretary from his position here, right in front of my eyes?!"

Nino couldn't help his heartbeat speeding up a little bit at the suddenly possessive attitude of his boss.

Jun shrugged. "He would stay in the project."

"That's not the point!" Sho retorted, his voice sounding angry.

"Uhm. Excuse me, but in case you didn't notice, I am present, so could you please refrain from talking about me as if I'm some goodie that you can push around?" Nino jumped in.

"I am sorry, this, of course, was not my intention," Jun rowed back, immediately. "I just wanted to express that I appreciate your hard work and that everyone could be happy to call you their secretary. You're doing great work."

"Thank you," Nino accepted that, at least. He had not expected Jun to keep going after that, but the young man did.

"So, if not work-related, maybe you would like to go for a drink with me sometime?" the man asked, smiling at Nino, who just blinked at him in surprise.

"For a drink?!" Sho repeated, snorting, completely thrown off balance.

"Only if you want to," Jun clarified, still looking at Nino and ignoring Sho completely. "Wait, here…," he took a business card out of his jacket's pocket. Even if all of them had exchanged cards already at the beginning of the meeting, he handed another one to Nino, but not before scribbling something on the back of the card. "Call me if you feel like it."

"Uhm… thank you?" Nino replied, after taking a baffled look at the card in his hands.

"Talk to you soon," Jun said, still smiling widely. He _winked_ , even.

Nino just gaped after him, when the man almost floated out of the room, as if he was surfing on top of an invisible cloud of confidence. The secretary was still highly confused about what just had happened.

"What was _that_?" Sho turned towards him, his expression a mix of confusion and bewilderment. "Did he just put his private phone number onto the business card he gave you?"

"Looks like it," Nino tilted his head, checking the numbers on the back of Jun's business card.

"He basically asked you out for a date just now!" his boss hissed.

Nino eyed Sho from the side. He was reacting quite strongly to this, wasn't he? Did it bug him so much that his rival was trying to lull his secretary in? He should know that this was just a sheer power play, something to irritate Sho, or perhaps even to disturb the (already fragile) harmony between Nino and his boss to test them, maybe to break them apart or just to tease them. To show that Jun considered himself to be the one having everything under control here, the bigger responsibility, the bigger power of decision, and the last word? 

Apparently, both young company heirs had not yet fully grasped that their project should rather be treated like a group project than a competition, but then, it had only been their first meeting. Things would calm down and fall into place. And if Jun just knew that things weren't that rosy between Sho and Nino, anyway, he would probably have known that his flirting attempt with the secretary wouldn't have much of an impact.

At least not on Nino. It seemed to have quite an effect on Sho though, which the young secretary couldn't deny finding interesting.

"Asked me out on a date? Did he really?" Nino, therefore, asked, playing along and pretending not to have noticed.

"You don't actually consider calling him, do you?" Sho asked Nino directly, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Nino started walking, Sho in tow, from the conference room back to their office. He pretended to consider the question for a moment. Even if he did not have a problem with Jun per se at the moment, he had to admit that he would feel slightly strange to go on a date with his former bully. Also, good looking company heir or not, Nino was not interested in him. However, it was too easy to tease his boss right now, he couldn't resist.

"I don't know, maybe I should?" the secretary finally said, even if he definitely didn't mean it.

"You can't –" Sho started, but probably realised that it was not his place to tell his secretary who he was allowed or not allowed to date, so he quickly changed directions after clearing his throat. "You don't plan to switch jobs, or do you?!"

"Calm down," Nino gave in, turning serious again. "I did not say anything like that."

"You've been flirting with Matsumoto," Sho suddenly accused his secretary.

"I what?!" Nino couldn't believe it. "When have I been flirting with anybody? No way! He was being nice, I was being nice, that's not particularly flirting."

"But he has been flirting with you and you responded to it," Sho continued stubbornly.

Nino snorted in disbelief. Why did he have to listen to that crap now? Was his boss getting crazy? As if it was _his_ fault how Jun treated him. And what did it even concern him anyway?

"Whatever," Nino rolled his eyes. Then, he remembered that he could be pretty stubborn too. "But even if, isn't that my decision?"

"Don't joke with me, Ninomiya," his boss gave him a warning look.

"I'm not," Nino persisted, crossing his arms too, now.

By now they had reached their usual working space, Nino holding open the glass door to his boss' office to let him pass through, which Sho did. Nino followed him. They shouldn't be talking about stuff like that, but rather make a quick debriefing about the meeting just now, checking their notes and writing down if they had ideas for the next meeting. However, Sho did not seem to be finished with the topic.

"Since when are you interested in men, anyway?" he asked once the door had closed behind the two of them.

Nino stared at him, bewildered. He had tried hard to ignore it those last few minutes but now, he could feel the skin at his neck burning from a reaction to all the stress, Jun's flirting, Sho's strange reaction, his ridiculous accusations and now, Sho asking something private like _that_. Nino took a deep breath and forced himself to stay calm.

"First, when did I ever say that?" he started, trying to keep his voice low and steady. "And second, since when are you interested in my sexual orientation? This is not related to business, so I refuse to reply to this question. And don't act as you know me that well, _please_!"

"I don't want you to talk to him," was the only thing Sho threw at his secretary as a reply.

"Because he's your rival or because he was flirting with me and for some reason, you didn't like that? Aren't you flirting with your girlfriend or with our female staff too, all the time?"

Nino realised that he just sounded more frustrated than he had intended to show, but apparently, this had bugged him more than he thought. Well, it was true. Even if he had not seen Sho and Keiko together since that dinner at the Sakurai family, he still had the image of them flirting with each other clearly in front of his inner eyes. And Sho was also particularly _friendly_ with the female staff in the office. 

Maybe, Nino had exaggerated a little, it was not full force flirting yet, but there had definitely been scenes between Sho and some random female employee where smiles were exchanged, where Nino had rolled his eyes at some cheesy compliments that Sho made to some of the female secretaries in the elevator, or when he was going on lunch break with various young women from other departments. Not that he had been jealous.

"That's – that's not the same! First of all, _they_ are flirting with _me_ ," Sho complained.

Well, Nino had to admit, Sho had a point here. Since he was the big boss' son, it seemed like the girls in the office were especially interested in him and perhaps he was really just playing along. 

"And second,” Sho continued, “I'm only thinking about the business. My father always says, being nice and a little flirty helps to keep the female staff motivated."

Nino couldn't hold back a chuckle. "Your father would never say something like that. Being nice, yes, but flirty? Does not sound like him. With all due respect, where did you really get that from, some wannabe becoming-a-boss-seminar on the internet?"

Sho blushed slightly. "Fine, it wasn't my father's saying. I read about it in a men's magazine."

"Besides my doubt that a men's magazine is a trustworthy source for becoming a good businessman, and I'm sure you know that it never occurred to you that this is – and I apologize for my choice of words – a dick-way of thinking about women?" Nino asked, raising an eyebrow, challenging his boss.

"Yes, what? Why? You know, true, but there's also some truth in it. Did you see how everyone tries to sweet-talk me here? Well, except you, obviously," Sho said, rolling his eyes.

Well, he was right, even if Nino was trying to be polite, for some reason, when it came to Sho, sometimes he just couldn't hold his tongue, became cheekier than he even thought he'd be capable of. He could only guess that this was his suppressed frustration and passive aggression towards his boss, the not so charming prince from his childhood dreams, and the difficulty to accept the discrepancy between his expectations of Sho and actual Sho.

"Sometimes it feels like they are treating me like a rock star or something," Nino's boss rambled on. "It's not my fault if they believe they could have a chance with someone like me. I mean, there's even a non-dating policy at work anyway, so they _know_ it's nothing more than a little flirting."

"Still, you shouldn't play with other people's feelings, no matter if men or women," Nino murmured. Admittedly, he caught himself referring to Sho's drunken kissing attempt rather than to Sho's pseudo flirting at work, but his boss didn't need to know that.

"Whatever... I don't want you to talk to him," Sho repeated once again when he finally took a seat behind his desk and Nino handed him his notes from their meeting with the Matsumoto Group's representative.

"Because of that non-dating policy?" Nino retorted. "I thought it only affects people who are both part of this company."

"Because I don't want you to talk to him!" Sho said once more, this time even more forcefully than before.

"What a great reasoning this is." Crap, Nino immediately cursed himself for not being able to keep his mouth shut. He wasn't planning on fighting with his boss, really!

Sho rewarded him with a death glare. "Stop talking back now, Ninomiya-san. You're walking a thin line."

"Am I? I got a job offer," Nino murmured, and then, Sho almost exploded.

"You said, you don't want to –" he grumbled, his eyes not leaving Nino, while he stood up from his chair again, his hands pressing down onto his desk. His slow but meaningful movements had something intimidating to them.

"No. No, I don't!" Nino immediately exclaimed, lifting his hands in defence. "I'm sorry. I should work hard to keep my temper under control."

"Good."

"I'm sorry," Nino added.

Sho sat back down on his chair. "So, if he does anything strange to you, let me know."

Nino frowned. "What are you saying, it's not like he's molesting me or anything..."

"I just say, if he does anything strange to you, let me know!” Sho looked at him, all serious. “OK?”

Nino swallowed. "OK, got it."

"Good," Sho said again before he cleared his throat. Was there more that he wanted to say? "That reminds me, we haven't exchanged private phone numbers yet."

Nino's frown deepened. "Do we need to? You have my work number."

"Well, what if there's an emergency and I need to call you?" Sho just looked at him, his glare almost as deathly as the one before.

"I have my work phone on me all the time for emergencies as you know," Nino dared to say. "Although I would like to take the opportunity and dare to say that my boss being drunk is not really an emergency that _I_ am supposed to take care of. Don't you have any friends for that?"

Sho didn't reply to that and just glared at Nino, who wondered if he had hit a weak spot. Maybe, he had. Considering Sho's yearlong absence, the thought of him not really having friends here anymore wasn't even that far off. It was exactly what happened between him and Nino too, after all. Things with Jun obviously had not developed into a good direction, their rivalry had just made a revival after Sho's absence. Maybe, things had not been so different from other people from Sho's childhood, either.

"I'm sorry," Nino added quickly. 

He wasn't sure if he had just hurt Sho, it had not been his intention. Apparently, though, Sho had decided not to give the topic any more attention, anyway.

"Just give me your phone number, OK?" Sho said. "If you don't mind?"

"Of course, not," Nino replied and finally leaned down to scribble his private phone number onto a piece of paper. "I actually thought you already have my number...," he dared to add in a low voice. 

At least, he had never changed his phone number since the day he got his first cell phone as a birthday present from his parents, more than a decade ago. Sho just looked at him before he averted his eyes. 

"I must have lost it, then," he murmured while taking the paper from Nino after he finished and typing the number into his cell phone. "I'll send you a message so you know which number is my private one. I assume you also only have my work phone number."

If Sho had changed numbers within the past years, that was true. Nino still had saved Sho's old contact, though, even if the connection had been lost a long time ago. 

Nino's private phone vibrated, shortly after. He pulled it out from his trousers' pocket to check it. It was indeed a new number, carrying just a simple neutral message from Sho, announcing his contact information.

The secretary slightly cringed at the realization that just some years ago he would have been over the moon to receive a message from his old childhood friend, but now, it just felt awkward. He felt his heart ache a little at the regret over not having what they could have had, and also over not being able to build a new, meaningful connection with Sho. Nino was torn between wanting to fix things and just wanting Sho to leave him alone. Things had honestly been weird between them ever since Sho came back. Maybe, they just were not compatible anymore, now as grown-ups...

"Thank you," Nino simply said.

For a moment, he was a little confused over-under which name he should save the number. It felt wrong to overwrite the contact he had always cherished as "Sho-chan", somehow, so in the end, Nino just went with a neutral "Sakurai Sho". It would do.

Sho didn't say anything anymore, stuffed his phone back into his pocket and tried to focus on the next task on the agenda.

\+ + +

Of course, Sho made use of Nino's private cell phone numbers for his "emergencies" as he continued to call him, even if his calls usually only consisted of him ending up drunk at the izakaya Akatsuki and asking Nino to pick him up. Recently, it even looked like Nino's boss was not only going out for a drink on Friday evening but also during the week at least once or twice. With his growing habit to call Nino in the late evening, he had also started to piss Nino off quite a bit, since he was either interrupting his gaming time with Aiba, or his meditations before going to sleep. At least, Sho had not tried again to _kiss_ his secretary, but that was about the only positive thing about the current situation.

"It's my boss again...," Nino sighed as he looked at his ringing phone lying on the coffee table.

Aiba paused the game they were currently at. "Needs you to pick him up at the izakaya? This is becoming a habit."

"I'm sorry, Aiba, I also really don't like this," Nino said, but at the same time, he was already up, ready to grab his car keys and head off. "You can wait here, I'll just pick him up, drop him off at his house and be right back."

"OK," Aiba nodded. "Just let me know in case you're staying over there, so I'm not waiting for nothing."

"I don't plan on doing that," the other man said.

"I know but remember how worried you are about him when he's drunk?" his friend raised an eyebrow. "I just want to say, it's fine if you want to stay and take care of him."

Nino froze. Actually, it had already happened. After he had freaked out that night when Sho had kissed him it had happened again that Sho was that far drunk that Nino wasn't able to leave his boss alone without feeling guilty. So, he had spent a few nights on Sho's couch already, just to make sure the other wouldn't do anything stupid during the night.

"It's just... I think he's really acting strange when he's drunk," Nino started. "Like a completely different person..."

"Is he more like the "old" Sho-chan, then?" Aiba wanted to know.

Nino shook his head. "No, he's just... different. Desperate. I think he's definitely drinking too much, maybe he even has an alcohol problem. And on top of everything, he always ends up calling _me_ to take care of the mess, why is he making me feel responsible for his actions?"

"Maybe he just wants to see you? Maybe he would like you to join him drinking, maybe he wants to talk, even if he can't say it?" Aiba shrugged.

"No way. He probably only enjoys annoying me. What would he want to talk about anyway?"

"I'm not sure but usually if people drink alone too often – and can't handle it – it's a sign that they need someone to talk to."

Nino just sighed again, deeply. It wasn't as if he hadn't thought about that. It wasn't even as if he hadn't tried to talk to Sho, asking him if he was alright, at least seeing if he was willing to talk about what was troubling him – if there was anything – but Sho had not really jumped on that. Mostly, he had been way too drunk already to even pronounce one whole meaningful sentence. So yeah, so much to that.

\+ + +

"Oh, it's you again, as expected," Nino was greeted by the barkeeper of the "Akatsuki" a few minutes later when he entered the izakaya.

He looked at the man, slightly confused. He had already been expected?

"Your friend is over there," the barkeeper pointed at the other end of the bar, where Nino immediately recognised Sho leaning over a glass that looked – and Nino hoped to be – water.. "He's done for tonight."

"I wished he'd stop calling me to pick him up... As if that guy couldn't afford a taxi," the secretary had not planned to say that out loud to the barkeeper of an izakaya, who just looked at him with his usual friendly face, but somehow he was really frustrated.

"You shouldn't be so strict with him, perhaps," the man replied. "Actually, I think he's going through a hard time. He really didn't look well tonight so I told him to call someone he trusts, and here, _you_ are again. You must be an important person to him and a good friend if you show up even though you seem to be annoyed by it."

Nino could feel his expression soften when hearing the barkeeper's words. He looked at Sho, a slight pang occurring in his heart. He swallowed.

_Someone he trusts?_

"I'm sorry," Nino said, brushing his hand over his face. "It's just... I'm a bit tired of it. And I had a guest over that I needed to leave behind because _he_ called and...," _Probably, this isn't about you, Nino._ Nino sighed. "Is he doing OK now? Did he cause any trouble?"

"He smashed some dishes, but it was an accident, so no worries."

Nino took a deep breath. "I'm so sorry, we'll pay for it, of course. Did anyone get hurt?"

"Your friend there suffered from a small cut, but nothing too troublesome," the barkeeper replied, putting a reassuring hand on Nino's shoulder, who had turned a bit pale upon hearing that.

"Gosh, what is he doing..."

"I know it's not my place to say anything but... I think he has some unsolved issues," the other man dared to say. "I suggest a talk rather than alcohol consumption, even if I'm not complaining about good customers," the man raised his eyebrows and then nodded his head towards Sho again.

"I'm not sure if I'm the one he wants to talk to," Nino replied.

"It's you who he called, so maybe you are?"

Nino hesitated for a little longer but then, he finally pulled himself together. "I'm sorry, I don't want to bother you with this. I'm going to take care of him. If there's anything left to pay, could you please let me know? I'll take care of it afterwards."

"No problem. Take your time and let me know if you need anything."

Nino thanked the barkeeper and finally started approaching Sho. He was getting a little more nervous with each step he took closer. He just couldn't help it. He had tried to let the man's presence not affect him, but in the end, Nino just couldn't completely let go of his old habit. 

He was happy to see Sho, he was excited to see Sho, and he enjoyed looking at that handsome man, he couldn't deny it. Even if he had to admit that looking at him when he was drunk was rather painful. He actually really wished that he could do something against that pain, but with that Sho would have to start talking to him. Maybe, tonight was the night for that, Nino thought. He took a deep breath and stood right next to Sho, who either didn't notice the newcomer right away or didn't dare to look at him.

"Hey," Nino simply said, not knowing how else he should probably start.

Finally, Sho moved. He turned his head and looked at Nino. He looked so tired, and his dark eyes only lit slightly from the dim light behind the bar, looked so sad that Nino had a hard time not to hug his old childhood friend right on the spot. Sho seemed to attempt a smile at him, but somehow, halfway, it failed, and he gave up. Nino tried to calm his quickening heartbeat with a few deep breaths, and then, he continued.

"Are you OK?" Nino asked, hoping his voice was loud enough for Sho to hear.

The man only hummed, not really giving a usable reply. Nino pulled another high chair closer and stepped up to sit down on it, facing his boss.

"You got hurt?" Nino asked. 

Sho only lifted his left hand and showed off an already patched up finger. 

"Cute plaster," Nino added, smirking at the dolphin print on the small piece.

"Ohno-san gave it to me," his boss finally murmured. "Everything's fine. It didn't even bleed that much."

"Ohno-san?" Nino frowned.

“The owner,” Sho pointed at the barkeeper, who just waved a little at Nino and then got back to work. "This is his place."

"Ah, I see," Nino nodded. Then, after a short pause in which both of them said nothing at all, he continued. "Sakurai-san... tell me, why is it that you always call me when you're drunk?"

Nino didn't know what he was expecting to hear from his boss, and barkeeper had already given him some background, but still, Nino had to try and ask. And surprisingly, he even received a reply.

"You are the only one that I can call, Nino," Sho said, sighing, and Nino's heart jumped. "You're my only friend..."

"How - how did you call me just now?" Nino asked, insecurely.

His boss stared at him for a second, before his eyebrows furrowed. "By your name, Ninomiya-san."

"You called me _Nino_!" the secretary exclaimed. "And you called me your _friend_!"

It couldn't be, right? Sho couldn't remember that they actually _were_ friends, he had already made clear that he couldn't remember anything, so why should he call them friends just now and call Nino by the nickname he had used in the past? It must be a coincidence, right?

"Must have slipped. Because it's shorter, perhaps?" Of course, Sho didn't remember, what was Nino even expecting? "Is this how your friends call you?"

"It is," Nino replied slowly, hesitating. "But... we're not... friends, I mean."

Suddenly, completely unexpected, Sho started to laugh. Nino drew back a little, honestly surprised.

"Of course, you'd say that," Sho said once he stopped laughing. "But ouch, that hurt my feelings!"

Nino chuckled, perplexed and then, everything inside him broke loose.

" _Your_ feelings are hurt now?!" he asked, and even if he wanted to sound sturdy, he could feel his voice break. " _You_ are the one who completely forgot about our friendship, didn't you? Your father told you that we've been friends, but you can't remember, aren‘t those your words?! And ever since you came back... aren't you the one who is always kind of mean to me, don't you think that _I_ should be the one with the hurt feelings?!"

Again, Sho frowned. "That's –"

"Let me finish talking, will you be so kind?!" Nino continued, cutting Sho's words. "I can't believe what you've just said, behaving as if we were friends all this time, I mean, we can talk about it, but I think we will have a lot of work to do if you want to rebuild what we had or if you just want to try being _friends_ and you know what would really help with that? If just for once, you could actually say that you are sorry, like every normal human being!"

Nino breathed out heavily once he was finished with his speech, and it took him only a few seconds to realise what he had just done. He looked at his boss, who stared at him, gaped at him, his mouth slightly open, his eyebrows furrowed, not in anger, but rather in confusion. Nino pulled in his lips between his teeth, and when his neck was just about to start itching, he raised his hand and pressed it against the fabric covering his most sensitive spot, hoping that the pressure would ease the itching. He tried to breathe normally through his nose, while at the same time he was trying to prepare himself for a lecture from his boss on how to treat his superior.

But the lecture never came.

Instead, Sho took a deep breath, sighed, took a sip of water from his glass and then looked back at Nino.

In a silent voice, he said, "I'm sorry."

Nino blinked at him, speechless for a moment.

"Sorry, what did you say?" the secretary finally whispered.

"I said, I'm sorry," Sho repeated. "I really am. Can you please take me home, now?"

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

Of course, Nino brought Sho home. He would have done so, even if the other man didn‘t suddenly turn so soft and begged him to bring him. He was his secretary after all. He was Sakurai Sho trash, after all.

Nino tried hard to keep himself together now that he was sitting behind the steering wheel of his car, with Sho sitting next to him in the passenger seat as they drove through the city, soothing minimalistic melodies as their background music. Ever since Nino had told his boss once, that it was _his_ choice of what music to play while they were driving in his car, Sho had never once complained. However, right now, Nino felt really strange about it and for once, the music did not help a bit to calm him down, anyway. So, he reached out and turned down the volume. He could feel Sho's confused look on him, after that.

"I figured, we should better talk than listen to music," Nino said, but kept his eyes on the road in front of him.

"Talk?" Sho repeated, slightly confused.

"Yeah, talk," Nino repeated. "That's what friends do, mostly. So... if there's anything on your mind that you would like to talk about, now it's your chance."

There was silence in the car for a few minutes, the only noise reaching their ears was the motor of the car and the noise from the car's wheels rolling over the asphalt road. Nino already cursed himself internally for having turned off the music and creating this literally awkward silence between him and Sho. But that's what it was, now. Maybe, he just needed to be a bit patient.

Indeed, just when Nino was about to turn around and check if Sho had fallen asleep while driving, the other man finally started talking.

"You know...," Sho obviously struggled to find the right words, and the alcohol in his system was surely not helping, but he tried and then, he dropped the bomb. "Actually, I don't want to be the heir of the Sakurai Group. I don't even want to be a boss..."

Nino couldn't say right away if Sho's confession surprised him, or not. He let his boss' words sink in, considered their meaning, and made connections. Actually, if someone thought about it, it made sense. It explained quite a bit. Nino couldn't help but glance at the man next to him, eager to see the expression on Sho's face. He looked sad. Nino swallowed. When Sho didn't continue, Nino saw it upon himself to bring the conversation forward.

"You want to elaborate on this a bit more?" he asked, gently.

Sho sighed deeply. He lifted one hand and for a moment, Nino thought Sho was about to be sick, but in the end, he only covered his eyes with his hand. It took him a while to collect his words, but Nino didn't mind.

"I don't want to... be stuck. I want to live my own life," the man finally said. 

His voice sounded hoarse, almost breaking. Nino kept silent, kept driving, allowed Sho to take all the time he needed. 

"This sucks. First, I've been sent away to study in a foreign country. I mean, that was an interesting experience and I am thankful for the opportunity, but... When I came back, everything was still the same. Everyone still wanted the same things from me, and they did not even ask me what _I_ want. I'm so tired of it."

Nino swallowed. Hearing Sho talking like that, unexpectedly hit him right in the heart. Harder, than he thought. It was as if he could feel Sho's frustration and pain first hand, and suddenly, he felt something that had been missing for the whole time - a connection between them, between their current selves.

"What _do_ you want to become then, if not the heir of your father's business?" Nino dared to ask. He wanted to know more.

"I want to be free...," Sho sighed.

Nino chuckled, softly. "In our society, that's a big word, _free_... not many people can claim to be that."

After a couple of minutes of silence, Sho asked, "Are _you_ free, Ninomiya-san?"

Nino hummed, thoughtful. "No, not really. But it doesn't mean that I'm miserable because of it."

"No?"

Nino continued. "Well, indeed I could imagine an easier job than working the whole day underneath someone who pushes me around, gets me to make reservations and appointments for them, insults my coffee-making skills -"

"Actually... I like your chocolate coffee quite a lot," Sho cut in, suddenly.

For a moment, Nino glanced at him, before focusing back on the street. "You know... I don't mind it that much. I'm glad to help. But even if it's my job, I'd like to know if I did something well or not – talking about constructive criticism here – and I definitely do appreciate a _thank you_ in between."

"Is that why you like Matsumoto complimenting you so much?" Nino could see in the corner of his eyes that Sho was now glancing at him with furrowed eyebrows and crossing arms in front of his body.

"It's not that –" Nino wanted to protest, but he didn't really know how else he should put it.

"OK," Sho interrupted him instead. "I get your point. I'm grateful, OK? I'm sorry if I'm not making that clear sometimes."

Nino was actually surprised to hear his boss getting worked up about this right now. Not even in a negative way, just as if it was something he wanted to set straight.

The secretary appreciated that and so he just said, "Thank you," before he fell silent again.

Sho looked at him, almost so persistently that Nino got distracted from looking at the road in front of him. It was as if there was something burning on his tongue that he wanted to say or to ask, but even when Nino raised his eyebrows at him to prompt him to talk, Sho kept silent. So, Nino decided to continue the talking.

"You know, there's this funny story," he said. "Back then, when we were kids, you said when we're grown up... I mean, back then, when we played together... You know, _I_ remember that quite well, compared to you."

Nino's tone was meant to be teasing, not annoyed or mad. He didn't mean it in a provoking way, but he just wanted to show a hint of his bitterness about the situation, once more. He felt himself stumbling a bit on his sentence, so he hoped it still met his intentions.

"OK," Sho said, nodding as if he was taking note of his secretary's message. "No need to rub that in. What did I say?"

Nino swallowed before he continued, suddenly doubting if he really should say what he had planned to.

"You said you're going to marry me so that my dad doesn't have to be your dad's secretary anymore and we'll all become a big happy family," Nino said. He couldn't believe what he did just now. But now that he was at it, he was going to finish. "But now my father is dead and I took over his job as your family's secretary... isn't it a bit ironic?"

Silence. For a few minutes, Sho didn't react at all. Nino sighed. But then, Sho cleared his throat.

"I'm really sorry about what happened to your father," Sho said, sincerely. 

Nino quickly glanced at him. Sho looked sincere but didn't dare to look right back. Nino just nodded before turning away again. Then, Sho said more, surprising his secretary. 

"I kind of feel like I should apologize now for not marrying you, but I guess, you have to blame the Japanese government for that one. Maybe we can try again in a few years when they have opened up a bit more to same-sex marriage?"

Nino could feel the heat flushing into his face, his cheeks warming up. If Sho, for whatever reason, was trying to cheer him up by saying something stupid like that, it kind of worked. The young man even chuckled shortly.

"Stop making fun of me, as if you would ever marry me," he murmured.

Sho cleared his throat again, averted his look and didn't say more about the topic. Probably, he didn't know how to carry on his own joke.

Instead, Sho asked another question. "What was your initial plan? As a job, I mean?"

Nino looked at Sho, slightly surprised, but he sounded sincerely interested, so Nino saw no reason why he shouldn't give an honest reply.

"I wanted to become a game designer. I was studying at university and damned, I don't like to brag, but I was _good_... Then, everything went downhill. My father got sick, very quickly, he had to step back from his job, he eventually died... and I had to follow his footsteps as your father's secretary."

"Why?" Sho asked. "I mean, why couldn't you just continue your studies and my father could find another secretary?"

"Because my father wasn't free, either," Nino replied. "He was indebted to your father. And now I'm indebted to him. To your family."

"Your father borrowed money from us?" Sho asked, surprised.

Nino just nodded. 

"Why?"

Nino took a deep breath before he started to explain his situation. "Because of my mom. She was sick too, during my childhood. She needed surgery, was bedridden for a long time and needed to stay in the hospital and when my father couldn't pay the bills anymore, he asked your father for help. Since then, the Sakurai family paid for the bills and your father promised that my father could work off his debts. But then, he got sick too, and so paying the hospital bills never ended. My mom is sitting in a wheelchair and still recovering from her illness, slowly. She lives in a nice apartment now, barrier-free and with the help she needs because I can't take care of her by myself... I could never afford all this without your father's help. So, I'm still paying off our debts with your family. Probably will be doing so for quite a few more years."

"Oh gosh, I had no idea." Slowly, Sho reached out to place his hand on Nino's thigh, as if to comfort him.

Nino jumped a little at the unexpected touch but didn't dare to say anything and just let Sho's hand rest there for the last couple of minutes of their drive.

"I – I figured," Nino just replied. "Anyway, that's how it is. That's why I can't just do what I'd like to, that's why I can't be _free_. But it's OK. As I said, I don't mind it that much. And I'm doing this for my family."

Sho's grip on Nino's thigh suddenly tightened a little, causing the secretary to glance at his boss, confused and with red flushed cheeks. He was even more irritated when he saw Sho's bottom lip shivering slightly, and his eyes blinking faster than usual.

"Ah – Sakurai-san?!" To say that Nino was shocked at this reaction from his boss, was an understatement. "What's wrong, are you... are you _crying_?!"

"I'm sorry," Sho said, sniffling.

"What? No, please... ah, here, take this," Nino said, reaching in front of Sho to his car's glove compartment and pointed at a package of tissues that Sho grabbed instantly.

The man fumbled a bit with the package one-handedly until he could pull out one of the tissues, shook it to unfold and then blew his nose. Gosh, how drunk that man must be that he even started crying, Nino wondered. If he wasn't so shocked about this sudden outburst, he might even be amused.

"I'm sorry you had it so hard. With your parents, with university... you're doing a great job, you hear me?" Sho then said, whining.

"Uhm... well, thank you," Nino replied, still absolutely irritated by what just happened, and trying hard to focus back on the road. It was only just a few minutes more before they would reach Sho's house, he needed to pay attention to bring them there, safely.

"I'm glad," his boss sniffed.

"About what?"

"About you being my secretary," Sho said.

Nino's heart felt warm about his boss' statement. He chuckled, softly and then finally turned the steering wheel to enter the driveway to Sho's house.

"Don't tell me, Sakurai Sho sincerely wants to make me feel better?"

"I mean it. I'm glad to have you by my side. As you can see, I'm a mess," the man chuckled in reply, gesturing awkwardly at himself with his free hand. "Without you, I'm an even bigger mess. We might both not be free, but at least we're stuck here together."

Nino didn't know what to say to that, but by now he felt his heart beating strongly in his chest, and once he finally stopped the car, he couldn't resist but dropped his hand on top of Sho's, pressing it gently. Sho's hand was warm and big, just like how he remembered it when they were younger. Sure, they both have grown since that time, but still, their hands fit together nicely. Nino swallowed and looked at Sho with a tender smile, who sniffled a last few times while looking back at Nino. For just a moment, everything seemed to be fine.

"Gosh, you're so drunk,” Nino finally said in a low voice, trying to smile. “Come on, I'll take you inside," 

Sho nodded. "Thank you."

\+ + +

Nothing more happened that night. Nino had brought Sho inside of his house, helped him into the bathroom and Sho had announced that he was good with that when Nino mentioned that a friend was waiting back home. Nino still offered Sho that he could call or text him, if there was anything else, he could help with. It was only in the next morning though that Nino heard again from his boss, and this only because he tried to reach him first and he was calling back.

"Good morning, Sakurai-san," Nino said when he picked up the call. It was almost midday, but he assumed that his boss would be sleeping in today, the greeting should be accurate.

_"Good morning, Ninomiya-san."_

Nino pushed his phone closer to his ear. It wasn't the first time that he and Sho were talking over the phone, of course, but it was a bit different this time, after all, he had been the one initiating the call and not drunken-boss-Sho.

"Do you feel any better today?"

 _"Better?"_ Sho asked.

Nino frowned. He knew, he shouldn't even have dared to keep his hope high that things with Sho would be different after last night after they both had broken out of what kept them from properly communicate with each other. After their kind of heart-to-heart talk yesterday in the car, with his boss ending to tear up even, Nino felt like maybe, something had changed... They had exchanged their deepest and most honest thoughts, had both confessed that they were feeling more or less trapped in their lives.

Furthermore, Nino finally had a good guess on what made Sho drink so much, or at least, he could imagine what his reason was – his dissatisfaction with his job. Sure, Nino could have dived a bit deeper into the topic, but it seemed like Sho was not ready to share even more than he did with his secretary for now. Instead, Sho had even started to ask Nino about his own situation, and so it had been him, who opened up to the other man.

Actually, Nino had only told Sho what he had wanted to tell him since the beginning. If they had been in contact during the time Sho was gone, Nino would have called him and told him about everything. Like this, it felt like they caught up a bit, filled that gap between their past friendship and their current relationship a little bit. Hell, Sho had even been crying about Nino being burdened with the debts of his family, and the biggest miracles of all, he had said to Nino that he was sorry for his behaviour, as well as that he was being thankful for what Nino does for him in his job. Things that Nino had never dared to hope to hear from his weird, stubborn boss, but apparently, the alcohol had loosened his tongue quite a bit.

Still, Nino wanted to know more about Sho. He was quite happy that he now knew that Sho wasn't such as huge a prick as he had thought he had become after coming back from Europe. He had seen his vulnerable side, even if just a glance of it. He knew that his kind _Sho-chan_ was still in there, somewhere.

Maybe, in the long run, they would be able to fix this and become real friends again, so that they could talk more about the things that troubled them. Nino wanted to tell Sho that he was doing a good job, but if he didn't want to do what his father wanted him to, maybe he should talk to him. He wanted to tell him that he was happy to listen to his sorrows if this meant that Sho would stop getting drunk multiple days a week. He would be willing to do a lot of things for that man, that was for sure.

However, once more, things turned out to be different as Nino had expected them to be and thus, instead of what he had hoped, Sho did not seem to have opened up to him at all, or he simply closed up again, because he was back to his usual self.

"Well... after drinking yesterday, you felt quite down, to say the least," Nino finally continued. His heart was already prepared for what would probably follow, but he couldn't say that it would hurt less. "You even... cried. And I'm sorry, I think that one was my fault."

 _"What are you talking about? I don’t cry.. Ever. Especially not in front of my employees,"_ Sho's voice sounded cold over the speaker and Nino bit his lower lip.

He swallowed, his mouth suddenly feeling dry and his heart beating in his throat, and while wondering what he should say if he should try to remind his boss about their conversation if he should tell him that it was him who talked about them being friends, that he was a mess without Nino. In the end, it was Sho who continued speaking.

 _"Seriously, I don't know what you're talking about,"_ the man at the other side of the line snorted. _"Have you been dreaming of me or what?"_

Oh, how much Nino hated it when Sho was talking like that. As if he was definitely not the problem in any way, Mister Perfect, even though it was Nino who did all the important work and Sho was the one who had emotional meltdowns in izakayas because he couldn't handle his life. Was this his way of coping with things? Make fun of other people? Nino was so confused; he didn't know what to think any longer and which side of Sho he should believe in. He only knew that he had enough of this!

"Definitely, not! Forget it, I just wanted to check in on you to see if you're OK, have a nice weekend!" Nino burst, and ended the call.

He abandoned his phone and decided to focus on other things. Because he definitely had better things to do than to waste his nerves on his stupid boss!

While Nino had planned to go through the journal again to re-read some of his favourite passages, the one that he landed on when flipping the book open wasn't particularly the one that he had been searching for. Still, Nino's eyes immediately flew over the text again.

_It's harder to see with my head in the clouds but my feet on the floor.  
I can't seem to keep any wolves from my door._

_The funny thing is, you wait for a sign and then ten come along.  
A swing and a miss, it never rains but it pours._

_On the horizon, stars are darker, worse than ever before.  
The sun isn't rising, so I can't see the shore._

_Drowning in the water, against the current I can barely hold on.  
But one thing that I remember, it's always darkest before the dawn, in the eye of the storm._

This time, those words hit Nino hard. He felt like they fit the situation that Sho had started to describe to him just too well. Feeling trapped, feeling forced to do things he didn't want to, being overwhelmed, not being able to work up against the wave of commitments and responsibilities that other people were pushing onto him. He could just imagine the pressure on Sho's shoulders.

Nino remembered his mother's words. That it surely had not been easy for Sho to come back after years in a foreign country, having to readjust with his old home, his new job, the old expectations of his parents.

No, it surely wasn't easy, Nino thought. Maybe, he should be more considerate, more supportive. Pushing back his own problems with Sho and focusing on trying to crack the tough shell around the man to help him crawl out and face his troubles.

It was true, after all, night is darkest before dawn breaks. But if Sho had reached a dark point in his life, maybe it could just become better from here.

\+ + +

The second meeting with the representative of the Matsumoto Group, the heir Jun, and his secretary, which was appointed on another Monday morning, did not seem to go off any better than the first one, much to Nino's disappointment. If anything, he felt like being between two kindergarten kids trying to solve their discrepancies in a puddle of mud, even if they weren't splashing wet dirt at each other, but ridiculously shallow insults in the disguise of business talk.

The worst thing about this situation was that they did not manage to get any step closer to a mutual ground for the "Hana Yashiki"-project, while the good thing – and Nino just _had_ to try to see something positive in this chaos or he would turn crazy – was that Sho got quite some practice in arguing with a disagreeing business partner. Which was something he had not exactly excelled in so far if Nino dared to say so.

However, of course, it was not a pleasant task for Nino to go upstairs into Sho's father's office after the meeting, once Jun and Mrs Inoue had left and Sho had slipped away into his office, alone – to think about another strategy to convince Jun about his ideas – and to brief the company president with an update on the matter.

"It's my son's first big project," President Sakurai started after Nino's unsuccessful report. "I don't expect everything to happen smoothly from the beginning, you can tell Sho that it's OK if it takes time. Good things always take time and I also know that the Matsumotos are not the easiest people to deal with, believe me! There's a reason why we couldn't get together at the same table before, and it would be a miracle if things worked well right away. But keep up the good work and we will see results, eventually. Keep me updated, please."

"Of course." Nino nodded and bowed slightly, ready to leave, but Sho's father held him back.

"Tell me, Ninomiya-kun, what do you think about my son's work so far? In general, I mean," the man asked. "Is he doing OK? He does not really talk about it when we're having dinner together, he wants to keep work at work, he says, and I can't monitor him all day."

"I –" Nino did not really know how to continue. He remembered that conversation with Sho – drunk Sho, but still Sho – about not liking his job, but it was definitely not his place to say anything about that to Sho's father. "I think he has potential. It's surely not an easy task to enter a business as big as the Sakurai Group, without any prior experience in the business world, but he's doing his best, don't worry, and I'm here to support him as best as I can."

President Sakurai nodded, understandingly. "Thank you, Ninomiya-kun. I knew I can count on you."

"I'll do my best."

"Tell Sho that I'd like to have dinner with him, and he doesn't need to be upset about the failed meeting," the man added. 

Nino smiled sympathetically, knowing that the man in front of him probably just wanted to give a pep talk to his son and cheer him up a little bit.

"I'll let him know."

When Nino was back downstairs, he surprisingly crossed paths with Jun in the corridor. Slightly confused, he exchanged a look with the young man, who just grinned widely and seemed to intend to follow Nino to his desk.

"Matsumoto-san, I thought you already left," Nino said while he continued walking. "Did you lose something, perhaps?"

"I did," Jun replied, but his words paired with his happy face didn't make sense to Nino.

"What did you lose?" he frowned, as he reached his desk and put down his notes that he had needed for his report at the president's office. "Maybe I can look after it and inform you."

"I lost my heart," Jun declared, staring at Nino.

The secretary frowned. 

"Excuse me?" he asked, bluntly.

"I lost my heart to you," the man in front of him repeated. "And I noticed, you didn't hit me up yet on my invitation for a date, so I figured, I’ll ask again what you think about it."

Nino snorted, hinting a slight roll of his eyes. "What is this, are you and Sakurai-san in a competition about who can make me feel more embarrassed? Excuse my attitude, Matsumoto-san, but I don't think that's something we should talk about in a working environment."

"It's fine, it's fine, your cheeky attitude is what attracts me," Jun said, unimpressed. "You are bold, to be honest, for a secretary, this is quite rare, but I like it."

"It's really not my place to talk to you like that, please just forget about it," Nino added, trying to get back to his work.

"Don't worry. And to go back to your assumption, well, I don't know about Sakurai-san, but _I_ am taking my advances towards you very seriously," the heir of the Matsumoto Group didn't give up, apparently.

Nino wondered what to do. He had to try to stay polite, and professional, when he said, "Then, just in case, I would like to remind you that we have a non-dating policy here at work."

However, Jun only seemed to take Nino's words as a challenge. "This doesn't mean you can't date anyone outside of this company, right?"

Damned, Nino's plan obviously hadn't worked out. "I... I feel honoured, really, but I would really like to keep our relationship as a business-type of relationship, please."

"So hard-working, Ninomiya-san, how about taking a break and having a little fun in between?"

"It's OK, I do have quite a good vision about _fun_ , you don't need to worry about me," Nino said, forcing himself to smile. Jun didn't need to know that Nino's definition of fun could practically be summed up as just _reading and playing games_ , but the secretary was of the opinion that this had to suffice. "So, I appreciate the offer, but no thank you."

"Well, I'll take that as a _maybe some other time_ ," Jun declared, pushing his hands into the pockets of his suit's trousers. He grinned in order to enforce his decision of not giving up yet. "Have a nice day, Ninomiya-san."

Nino sighed. "Same to you, Matsumoto-san."

\+ + +

It wasn't the last time that Jun tried to ask Nino out. 

Sometimes, the young man showed up unannounced, _accidentally_ just before lunchtime, to ask if Nino was free to grab a snack or a coffee or whatever. Sometimes, it was difficult for Nino to send him away. That man was persistent! He even tried to tell him that he used to take his lunch-break alone, so he could go out into the park and read a bit after eating, but the only thing that Jun had to say about that was that he liked the park a lot too, that he even used to go there sometimes, and wouldn't mind joining Nino. Nino didn't exactly tell Jun that _he_ would mind and pretended to be too busy to take a break that day anyway, only to scoff his lunch down in between two meetings later on.

One time, when Sho saw Jun hanging out at Nino's desk, keeping his secretary from working, he joined them and somehow, they ended up going to the cafeteria for lunch and what a strange group of three they turned out to be!

Nino wasn't sure what was the most uncomfortable thing about this situation. That Jun was still trying to ask him out, that Sho persistently repeated that he wouldn't allow Jun to headhunt Nino as his secretary, by no means, or that the three of them shared a table. Nino only knew that this was his weirdest lunch break since he started working at the Sakurai Group, and he truly longed for his downtime alone at the park, reading or playing games...

"Are you free for a coffee or something? I heard there's a new place just outside across the street. It's apparently especially popular with new couples."

"He is having coffee with _me_ , in the office, later on, Matsumoto-san. Don't bother."

"Oh, in your office?" Jun raised a curious eyebrow.

Sho immediately gave him a death glare. "That wasn't an invitation."

"Didn't feel like it but maybe I still have a few things to cover regarding our project?" the other man suggested.

"I think that's what our Monday meetings are for," grumbled Sho.

"But don't you think we're progressing rather slowly?" his rival continued. "Maybe we should start meeting twice a week, instead."

"Actually, that wouldn't be such a bad idea, Sakurai-san," Nino intervened, and considering their slow progress in the project, it truly wasn't.

They had finally finished their lunch break, and Nino was unusually eager to get back to his desk and drown himself in work. Even if he agreed on needing to speed up the process a bit to push the "Hana Yashiki"-project further, he didn't want to spend more of his precious spare time with those two in the same room, for more than necessary. Shared work time was enough already.

Once they arrived back in front of Sho's office, the man's father was there, waiting for his son. He politely greeted Jun, exchanged a few words with him and made sure the young man would send his greetings to Matsumoto Senior, and then the company president vanished together with Sho in his son's office. Sho didn't look too amused, he probably didn't want to leave Jun and Nino unattended, but he couldn't do anything about it. Now with one problem out of the way, Nino wished, the second one would just leave, too, but, of course, this would have been way too easy.

"Come on, Ninomiya-kun, give me a chance," Jun continued, once Sho's office door was closed. "You know, you're kinda lucky, actually. Look at all these girls, they'd be over the moon if I asked them to go out with me."

Indeed, there were two young women looking around the corner to Nino's workspace at the moment, quickly blushing when Jun waved his hand at them. They waved back and then ran away, giggling like schoolgirls. Jun grinned at the secretary, as to prove his point. Nino rolled his eyes and groaned silently.

"I am surrounded by narcissists...," he murmured.

"Hm?" Luckily, Jun hadn't understood what he just said.

"Ah, nothing, I just said, maybe I'm not like other girls," Nino said, tilting his head and forced himself to smile. "First of all, I'm not a girl."

"Doesn't mean you can't like me," Jun stated. "I mean if someone considers this _tension_ between you and Sakurai-san, it's obvious that you're not unaffected by the male gender. So," the young man set himself in posture and gestured at his own body just to add more for Nino to cringe about, "You can surely find something attractive about me, too, right?"

"Please excuse my straightforwardness, but I can tell you for sure that if there is something that I definitely do _not_ find attractive, it's complacency and narcissism," Nino dared to say, hoping he wasn't going too far but seriously, he just couldn't hold his tongue anymore. "Also, there is no _tension_ between me and my boss, I just need to pay particular attention to him because I am his private secretary," at least nothing like sexual tension or the likes, Nino just wanted to make clear.

"First, what you call complacency and narcissism, I call a healthy amount of confidence," Jun said with a broad grin. At least, his ego was so big that he had not taken Nino's words as an offence. "And did you just say that you are not interested in Sakurai-san _that_ way?"

"Of course, I'm _not_!" Nino exclaimed, hoping that the hotness he felt burning in his cheeks didn't betray him. “He's my boss, after all.”

"Which means I can still try winning you over. Good."

"That's not what I wanted to –"

"Just wait for it, sooner or later, I'll convince you," Jun said with a _healthy amount of confidence_.

Nino wrinkled his forehead. "Please, don't..."

"Have a nice day, Ninomiya-san! Next time I'll bring flowers!"

Nino frowned deeply, but before he could protest, Jun was gone. Well, better that way, at least now Nino could focus on his work. Or at least, he _thought_ he could, however, it turned out that it wasn't granted. Nino only just had fifteen minutes to work in peace. As soon as Sho's father left, Sho wanted to talk to him again.

"What can I do for you? Would you like to have your chocolate coffee now?" Nino asked his boss as he stood in front of Sho's desk, trying not to sound too annoyed.

"I just wanted to make something clear," Sho said in a serious voice. He had folded his hands and was holding them in front of his face, his elbows put on his desk to stabilize his position. He was frowning. It must be something _very serious_ then.

"What is it?" Nino dared to ask.

"I just wanted to set straight that I don't think that you would have time for a relationship at the moment, Ninomiya-san," Sho started. Nino frowned at his boss. Sho cleared his throat before he continued. "I mean, there's a lot of work to do when you're the private secretary of the heir of such a big business as the Sakurai Group -"

"I know," Nino nodded.

"And didn't you say you like playing games in your spare time?"

Nino frowned "I did?" _When did I tell him about that?_

Sho didn't pick up Nino's question and just kept talking. "Imagine you were dating a jerk like Matsumoto-san and he would steal all your spare time."

"First, there's no immediate reason to call Matsumoto-san a jerk," Nino dared to interrupt his boss. "And second, isn't it _you_ who steals all my spare time by calling me whenever you're drunk, several times a week?"

Sho seemed to be taken aback a little by the accusation but what could he say against the truth?

"I... Uhm... I'm just saying there's a lot of work, if you start a relationship with somebody, you'd surely slack off at work and I would not appreciate that," the company heir finally said.

"I get it," Nino replied, intentionally only confirming that he had understood what Sho just said, though that he would not comply to his request. There were lines, even a boss shouldn't cross, and the private life of a secretary was part of that, at least to Nino's understanding.

"Good."

"Okay... Is there more I can do for you at the moment?" Nino asked, ready to finally leave. "Otherwise, I'd need to work on some e-mails."

"I'm... Uhm... no, we're done here. Go back to work. Oh... but...”

Nino sighed. “Chocolate coffee?”

Sho nodded, “If you don't mind?"

Flashed a fake smile at his boss. "Of course not, just give me five minutes."

\+ + +

It turned out that Jun was not joking when he said that he would bring flowers for Nino next time they met. It was just that Nino had not expected to meet him again, so soon. In fact, in the first moment, he did not even realise that it was Jun who was hiding behind what seemed to be the biggest bouquet of flowers that any shop in Tokyo could offer.

"Oh wow, what is that?!" Nino asked when the explosion of purple, white and green came through the corridor and stopped just in front of his desk.

The secretary put down his coffee mug and tried to figure out what was going on. He had just taken a sip of his after-lunch-break coffee and was about to prepare some files for Sho on his computer, but obviously, things had to wait for a bit, now.

"Beautiful flowers for a beautiful man," came a cheerful, familiar voice from behind the bunch of flowers.

"Matsumoto-san, is that you?!" Nino asked.

The man leaned to the side, just enough so that his face was showing, and grinned broadly at Nino.

"It's me!" Jun chimed. "I heard it's your birthday. So, Happy Birthday!"

"Oh, wow, thank you!" Nino replied, stunned about the fact that Jun even knew about that.

The heir of the Matsumoto Group pushed the flower bouquet a little forward until Nino finally stood up from his chair and took it in his arms. Now, he couldn't see anything anymore, and everything was just smelling of flowers. He decided to carefully put them aside.

"Do you like them?" Jun asked, still smiling broadly.

Nino couldn't help but reciprocate that smile. "They are very beautiful, indeed." He meant it.

"I thought you'd like them," the other man replied, obviously pleased with himself. He pointed at the flower arrangement and added, "There's also an envelope including an invitation for dinner and a self-written poem, just for you, by the way."

Nino frowned but chuckled at the way Jun was tilting his head and pointing at a purple envelop hidden between the flowers. As always, he gave off a very confident impression but mixed with his usual charm, it wasn't annoying or upsetting, no, it was, yeah, Nino could at least see, why some people might like it. He reached for the envelope and opened it. After all, there was nothing wrong with accepting a birthday present from a business partner, right?

Indeed, there was an invitation for dinner, a famous high-class burger restaurant in the city that Nino had definitely heard of but had never been to because it was so expensive.

"Someone did their homework, I suppose, or how come you know about my love for hamburgers?" Nino laughed.

"I have my sources," Jun replied, wiggling an eyebrow at the other man.

"Really, I'm grateful for this gesture, but isn't that too generous?" the secretary dared to ask, but Jun immediately shook his head.

"Not at all! Please accept it."

Nino would think of it. "And you write poems?" he asked, instead of giving a direct reply. 

Actually, that was the part that was the most interesting to Nino at this very moment.

"I do," Jun agreed, straightening his posture.

He looked proud, which made him quite a bit attractive, Nino had to admit. In the end, he couldn't suppress his curiosity, and opened up the folded card inside the envelope, a purple flower matching the flower bouquet he had received from Jun, printed on the front. The poem was not written by hand but printed on another piece of paper that was lying inside of the card. Only the signature was done by hand.

_"Baby, you're my umbrella.  
Gently, you accepted me with your small palms and sun-like smile  
so that I won't get wet by the cold rain falling in my heart._

_Baby, you're my umbrella.  
The umbrella that should have been lost which I had been searching for, is always with me  
In a place closer than anyone, was always waiting for me to noticed it._

_M. J."_

Nino frowned a little but tilted his head with a small smile on his lips, as he knew that Jun was watching him for a reaction. He tried to push his original thoughts away, as they were kind of ridiculous.

 _So I'm like an umbrella, huh? Does that mean I'm supposed to catch all the rain for him and he'll stay dry?_ He wondered. _You're an idiot, you're not interpreting this romantically enough! He even referenced to your small hands!_ Nino cleared his throat. _Well, great, he managed to point out one of my biggest complexes._

"So... do you like it?" Jun asked, his eyes shining, as he couldn't wait any longer for feedback.

"Uhm, yeah, it's... lovely," Nino replied, flashing a smile at the other man. "Thank you very much. Do you often write poems?"

"Yeah, when I have time to do so," Jun replied willingly. "In the beginning, I used to write by hand but since I lost a notebook once, I switched to writing digitally."

Nino froze for a second. Did Jun just say, he lost a notebook, once? But before Nino could take the chance and ask for details, Jun had already jumped to the next topic.

"So, are we going for dinner sometime? In the burger restaurant, I mean?" Jun continued, pointing at the papers in Nino's hands. "As the invitation says, it's on me, even if you want to eat the whole menu."

"Yeah, sure," Nino shrugged. It was a free meal, after all, and he could imagine worse things than spending an evening in a fancy restaurant together with Matsumoto Jun. He didn't need to count it as a real date if he didn't want to and how things would proceed afterwards were still a completely different question.

"Great, text me the times when you're available this week and I'll make a reservation," the man in front of him beamed at him. "I have to go now but believe me, I can't wait to see you again. I wish you a lovely birthday!"

"Thanks, Matsumoto-san."

Jun floated away, grinning from one ear to the other, and even cheerfully greeted Sho, who was passing him on the corridor, before stopping in front of the elevator door and pressing the button to wait for it. Nino tried to keep his smile in place when Jun turned back to wave at him, but with every passing second, he started doubting if it was really a good idea to agree to Jun's plans.

"I heard something about a birthday?" Sho frowned at Nino as he reached his secretary's desk. He was holding a cup of coffee in his hand, from the cafeteria downstairs, as he must have just come back from lunch.

"Ah, yeah. It's my birthday," Nino replied, casually.

His boss paled. "I thought, that's tomorrow. On the 17th?!"

"Well, today _is_ the 17th," Nino replied, raising an eyebrow.

"No, it's not, it's the 16th," Sho retorted.

"No, believe me, it's the 17th," Nino repeated. "Did you mix up the date again?" How did that man even survive?

"Then... I fear, I messed up," Sho replied, obviously trying to keep his composure. "I'm sorry I didn't congratulate you properly."

Nino shrugged. "It's OK."

"No, it's not," Sho exclaimed. He truly looked shocked. "I should at least be able to congratulate my private secretary to his birthday, _on_ his birthday, no? Why wasn't there an entry in my schedule?"

"I don't consider this so important that I put my own birthday on our schedule," Nino replied, frowning at the other man. And it didn't change the fact that Sho was living on the wrong date. Sho sounded pissed off but Nino wasn't sure if he was pissed at him or at himself. "Really, it's not a big deal."

"Then who made a big deal out of it by sending you this huge bunch of flowers?" Sho asked, making a strange gesture with his hand towards the purple, white and green flower arrangement taking up almost half of Nino's desk. His eyebrows knitted. "Don't tell me, Matsumoto – is that why he was here?!"

"It's indeed a present from Matsumoto-san," Nino confirmed.

Sho snorted. "I can't believe it. Is he really being serious about you?"

"So what, if he is?" Nino immediately shot back. Slowly but surely, he was really starting to take this personal. "Would it be so strange if someone was interested in me?"

His boss didn't reply, brushed his hand through his dark hair and threw another look at the flower bouquet, and then back at Nino. He snorted again and then stormed into his office, apparently upset by what Nino just told him. The automatic blinds were being shut just a second after Sho took place behind his desk, and Nino rolled his eyes. So Sakurai Sho was being childish again. If Nino didn't know it better, he'd actually really think that his boss was jealous. But that was ridiculous. Sho wasn't interested in him _that_ way. He was only unable to stand the thought that Jun could outdo him in any situation.

To Nino's utter confusion, just about half an hour later, another excessively big bunch of flowers showed up right in front of Nino's desk.

His colleague and fellow secretary Satomi was standing at his table at that moment because she wanted to get some special tips from Nino regarding President Sakurai, who she was now assigned to when the flowers arrived. She looked just as stunned and confused as Nino did.

"A delivery for Ninomiya Kazunari-san?" came a stranger's voice from behind the bush.

"Uhm... yes, that's me?" Nino replied, hesitantly.

"This is for you!" the young man behind the flowers exclaimed and placed the bouquet onto Nino's desk, right next to the one he had received earlier. Then, the man lifted his green baseball cap and slightly bowed at the secretary. "Have a nice day and please recommend Dandelion Flower Delivery. Thank you!"

"Uhm, thanks," Nino stammered, still confused, and while the delivery boy headed off again, Nino faced the bunch of flowers.

This time it was a warm mix of red, yellow and orange colours as it came to the choice for the flowers. Nino blinked when he saw it.

It was at least as beautiful as the other flower bouquet he had received, but honestly, it was getting a little cramped on his working desk. He was still confused. He had never received that many flowers – especially not such extremely big arrangements – before on his birthday. Sure, his mother usually gave him a small, colourful bouquet when he dropped by for dinner and to eat a piece of home-made birthday cake at her place, but this was definitely something new. Nino scanned the flower bouquet, searching for something specific. However, he just couldn't find it. Was there no note attached to the flowers? So how should he know to whom he was indebted now?

"Wow! Now, someone got some generous admirers here!" Satomi said, smiling at Nino with a wide smile. "Is there anything you want to tell me?"

Nino just blushed a little bit and murmured something about this was a story for some other time, just when Sho came out of the office, eying first the bunch of flowers, and then letting his glance wander to Nino. He looked a little insecure, or was Nino imagining things?

Satomi also seemed to feel that something was off because she quickly collected some of Nino's notes for her, smiled at her friend and left the place immediately after wishing him and Sho a nice day.

"I thought I heard something," the man remarked as he closed the glass door behind himself and walked in front of Nino's desk. He was eying the flowers.

"Ah yes, it was a delivery for... me, apparently," Nino started, and suddenly, he had quite a suspicion from whom those flowers could have been. 

Could it be? He looked at his boss, who quickly averted his eyes. Nino swallowed. His heart just made a little jump in his chest. 

"Sakurai-san, do you perhaps know where those flowers come from?"

"Yeah... I do," Sho said, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"So?" Nino raised an eyebrow.

His boss cleared his throat before he answered, "I ordered them."

"For me?" Nino asked, his suspicion confirmed. He tried to act surprise and at the same time suppress the small flash of happiness he was just experiencing. He was being stupid, wasn't he?

"Because of your birthday," Sho said, making a weird gesture with his hand. He sometimes did that, Nino had noticed, especially, when he was nervous. "You like flowers, after all, don't you?"

"I really do, but you know that's not necessary, right?" the secretary replied, but it was becoming harder and harder every second to keep his face serious.

Damned, this whole situation was just too silly, and Nino didn't know if Sho really wanted to make him happy or just intended to compete with Jun. Anyway, he wanted to smile!

"Don't worry, they were cheap," Sho said, trying to sound casual. "On sale."

"That big bunch of flowers was on sale?" Nino repeated, not really believing his boss. He probably should just keep it at that, but honestly, he was already so used to bickering with Sho that he couldn't hold himself back.

"That's what I just told you, didn't I?" the other man stayed stubborn.

Nino chuckled. "You didn't happen to write a poem, did you?" he asked, joking.

"What?! No, why should I?! No, I didn't!" Sho frowned and immediately negated, maybe a little stronger than necessary. "I – I don't do sappy things like writing poems, seriously, does it look to you as if I have time for something like that?"

"Don't mind my question," Nino shook his head. After all, he really just had to make a joke.

Sho frowned at him. "Did Matsumoto write a poem?"

"He did," Nino replied.

"And... is it good?"

"It's... interesting."

"What did he write?" For someone who claimed not to be interested in stuff like sappy poems and the like, Sho showed quite a bit interest, Nino realised.

"Something... umbrella," he answered, not sure how to describe the content of Jun's poem differently.

Sho frowned at him. "What?!"

"It was supposed to be some kind of romantic allegory, I suppose."

"Let me read it," Nino's boss demanded, his hand stretched out at him.

"What? No, he wrote it for me, I don't think it's supposed to be for anybody else to see."

Sho rolled his eyes. "Come on, we are talking about Matsumoto Jun, he has probably already posted a picture of it on his social media."

He had a point. At least, nobody would be surprised about that.

"Fine... here," Nino gave in, fishing for the birthday card with the poem inside and handing it to Sho, who read it carefully before sending another questioning look at his secretary.

"So, you're his umbrella, huh? Catching all the dirt or what?"

Nino blushed. Why did Sho just need to make it sound bad? And why did Sho just need to sound exactly like he himself had sounded in his thoughts when he had read Jun's lines for the first time?

"Don't say anything," Nino begged his boss in a low voice.

Sho chuckled. "That guy probably has too much spare time."

"No, wait, don't be mean!" Nino immediately jumped in.

Sho was being unfair. He thought about how much work Jun must have – probably – invested in his poem, and he also thought about the black journal lying on his bedside table at home. He didn't know yet, if it was _Jun_ whom it belonged to, even if after today he was seriously starting to suspect him being the owner of it, but whoever had written those words inside there, didn't simply have too much spare time. Rather, that person had an entire world of feelings inside them, that only surfaced in the form of words on a blank page. It was something wonderful.

"I think it's cool to have a creative hobby."

Sho looked at him, slightly surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah, so give that back to me and leave Matsumoto be!" Nino replied, and Sho did. "Uhm... thanks for the flowers," Nino added. He still wanted to tell his boss that he was truly happy about them, but somehow, the moment was ruined.

"Don't mention it," Sho murmured, and vanished back inside his office. The automatic blinds stayed close for the next few hours.

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> „Eye of the storm“ lyrics, as partially used in this chapter, are borrowed from ONE OK ROCK. (Listen to ONE OK ROCK, guys, they are awesome!)
> 
> Lyric translation credits for „After the rain“ go to the lovely mikunicchi!


	7. Chapter 7

"I don't know what to think about this, but probably, they are pushing their power game a little too far now," Nino added as a caption to the picture of his two huge flower bouquets that he had just sent to Aiba.

It didn't take long before he received a reply from his best friend.

_"Two high-class people being in love with you, Ninomi! One of them openly, the other in secret. If this doesn't sound like a romance K-drama, I don't know what does."_

Nino rolled his eyes before he typed his reply. "The only thing high-class about these two is their ego. I think they are simply rivalling in every aspect of their lives as if they're bored and I just got into their line of fire. Next time, they will probably compare their dicks at the company restroom."

_"Now that's something I'd like to see."_

"Idiot!"

 _"Aren't you curious about their dicks?"_ Winky face.

Nino quickly glanced up from his phone, blushing slightly, to check if anyone was watching him at the moment. He was alone. "Forget it, I'm not texting with you about other guys' dicks!"

 _"What a pity!"_ Sad face, winky face, again. _"So let's text about something else."_

"Actually, there is something else," Nino typed, hesitating for a few seconds before he finally hit the send button.

_"Spit it out, Bro!"_

"Matsumoto wrote a poem."

_"He did?"_

Nino wondered how to put his thoughts. "It's a little weird but I just came to think about it - what if he's the one?"

_"The one who???"_

"The one who wrote that journal I told you about some time ago," Nino explained.

 _"Gosh yes, the journal, I almost forgot about that!! I mean, if he does write in his spare time, it'd be possible!!!!! OMG!!!"_ Way too many exclamation marks. That's an excited Aiba Masaki for you.

"I guess, I need to analyse that further, but he said he writes quite a bit, and he said since he lost a notebook once, he switched to writing digitally."

_"You think he's talking about that black journal you found? Do you think he lost it?"_

"At least he also mentioned the park near the office and his own office is close by, so there's the possibility that he's been there and maybe lost something there. Or do you think I'm jumping to conclusions?"

_"Maybe, but this sounds like a true hint, you should probably ask him about it. And wait, does this mean if he's the one who wrote the journal, you'd consider going out with him? Because if I may remind you, you said you LOVE that journal and the one who wrote it."_

"That was just to emphasize how great the writing is, don't overanalyse that. Anyway, actually, since he invited me to that new fancy burger restaurant, I already accepted a date with Matsumoto, kind of."

_"My Ninomi~! Flowers don't get him, a poem doesn't, but a delicious hamburger does~"_

"Let's not talk about that. What I meant to say is, I think people who write are interesting, that's all. And, I really do love flowers! And now I have a lot of them. It makes me feel happy. Like I'm sitting in my own garden. But don't tell anyone."

_"My lips are sealed! But what about Sho-kun? Are you sure you want to go on a date with the Matsumoto-guy? Sho-kun might not like that."_

"I still think, he wouldn't actually care."

 _"You know, how I think about that,"_ read Aiba's text. 

Yeah, sure, Aiba's conspiracy theory was that Sho actually remembered everything about him and Nino and that he was just a shy guy who couldn't voice his feelings properly. As if! 

_"Let's try and see. Add your date with Matsumoto into the schedule at work and see how Sho reacts."_

Nino considered his friend's suggestion for a moment. Maybe, that wasn't such a bad idea. He'd be curious at least, how Sho would react if he found out that Nino did not put his own birthday into the calendar, but a "date" with Sho's rival. Or was this going too far?

The secretary couldn't even finish his thought when suddenly the glass door of his boss's office flew open. Immediately, Nino hid his private phone and straightened his posture. Sho stopped right in front of him but didn't say anything.

Slightly confused, Nino asked, "Can I help you with something?"

Sho didn't reply immediately and instead cleared his throat before he started. "You know, I think those flowers are not enough."

"What?" Nino frowned. "What do you mean? They are beautiful, I love them, they are more than enough!"

"I am happy to hear that, but listen to me," his boss continued. "I decided to take you out for dinner," he said before he quickly added, "Because it's your birthday... and to make up for messing up the date. That was really dumb."

"Uhm... excuse me but -"

"No buts, it's decided, finish up for today and we are ready to go," Sho exclaimed. "I've already made a reservation in a high-class restaurant. See it as a sign of my gratitude for your hard work."

"I am really sorry," Nino cut in, "That's really a generous gesture of you and I'm grateful but actually, I already have dinner plans."

"What?!" Sho raised both eyebrows.

“Is it that far-fetched to you that I might have dinner plans for my birthday?” Nino raised an eyebrow, wanting to test how far he could go. The irritated look on Sho's face was worth it.

"Don't tell me, Matsumoto –"

Nino smirked slightly before he let his boss off the hook. "With my mom."

"Oh."

"You see, it's a family tradition. We're having dinner at her apartment, she baked a much too sweet birthday cake for me that I still love... it's something small and probably not fancy, but it's enough for me and I won't miss it for any possible gourmet dinner," the secretary set straight. "So I'm sorry, but I think you have to cancel your reservation."

"OK. No problem, I can do that," his boss nodded, although he still looked a little bumped by Nino's rejection.

Nino admitted, if he didn't have any plans yet, he would have probably accepted, just because it was the first time that Sho actually invited him to something other than a cup of coffee when they were on the way back from a meeting outside of the office building – which usually was covered by the company as expenses anyway.

"Then, at least let me drive you," Sho suddenly suggested, causing Nino to frown.

"Why?" the other man asked, slightly suspicious.

"Can't I do something nice for my private secretary on his birthday?" Sho asked slightly snappish before he cleared his throat and got back to being more serious. "I mean it, let me drive you and greet your mother."

Nino wanted to ask what Sho had to do with his mother, since he most likely did not remember the woman herself from the few times he had met her as a kid, and certainly did not remember that Nino had already talked to him about her, but Sho looked so serious at the moment, that he feared he would become mad at him if he declined this offer as well. And what damage could he do, if he just dropped him off at his mother's apartment, said Hello and left again? Besides the fact that Nino wouldn't have a car to get from his mother's place to his own afterwards. Well, it wasn't that far, maybe he could just take a long evening walk or hop on a bus. His car was a thing of convenience in connection with his job, but not exactly necessary to going around to all the places he needed to in private.

"Fine, if you insist," Nino therefore agreed and for a moment, he thought he could see a smile on Sho's face. Just for a moment, before it was gone again.

"Good," his boss said. "So, let me know once you're finished and we're good to go."

\+ + +

And this was how Nino ended up with his boss in tow when he visited his mother that evening. Of course, his mother was super excited to see her son's boss slash former childhood friend and _, of course,_ she invited Sho to come in and share dinner and birthday cake with them. Nino wanted to protest, but in the end, he didn't stand a chance against his mother and his boss, so he just complied and closed the door behind all of them.

They had some small-talk over dinner, which mostly consisted of talk about food, which seemed to be Sho's go-to topic whenever it came to a small-talk situation, and then the talking went over to Nino's mother who talked about how much of a picky eater her son had been as a child, and still was – even if he had greatly improved, as Nino insisted on. 

Sho laughed while he added an anecdote about how much Nino had been struggling with trying to eat sushi during a business lunch until he gave up on it and ordered chawanmushi instead. His excuse had been that he was allergic to raw fish, however, Sho now knew better. Nino blushed and asked him not to spread his new knowledge.

After dinner, Nino's mom insisted on giving her son his birthday present, who gratefully took the lovingly wrapped gift from his mother and placed a small kiss on her cheek to thank her, before he read the birthday card and eventually unwrapped the present.

"You finished the patchwork!" Nino exclaimed when he revealed the cosy quilt. He took it in his hands and pressed his cheek against the soft fabric. The man beamed at his mother. "It feels amazing!"

"Wow, that's a colourful blanket!" Sho said, seemingly surprised.

"My mother made it herself," the secretary immediately explained, before he turned to the woman again. "But Mom, I wanted to _buy_ it, so that I can contribute to your project."

"It's fine," she chuckled with a proud smile. "I supported the project in your name."

"That's so sweet, Mom, really!" Nino said before he suddenly noticed something else. "Oh! And what's that?" he was now holding a gift card for his favourite gaming store in his hands which had fallen out between the folds of the patchwork quilt onto his lap. "Wow, thank you, you didn't have to!"

His mother just waved her hand before her face. "It's not much that I can give you, so please, just accept it, will you?"

"Of course, thank you!" Nino said, lovingly, and rewarded the woman with a second kiss, causing her to giggle cutely.

"You made this by yourself, Ninomiya-san?" Sho asked curiously, joining the conversation. "That's amazing! It looks like a lot of work!"

"Thank you. It's in all of Kazu's favourite colours," Nino's mother said proudly.

Sho chuckled, turning towards his secretary. "You have _five_ favourite colours?" he asked, teasingly.

"What?" Nino pouted. "Anything wrong with that?"

"No, no, no, it's fine," Sho said with a grin. When Nino looked at him, Sho's expression looked calm. Gentle...

"I just like colourful stuff, don't make a big deal out of it, please," Nino added, feeling his face flushing a bit. "Mom, thank you, I really love it!"

"Did you also get something from Sho-san?" the woman finally asked, curiously.

"I did, actually," Nino started. "A beautiful bunch of flowers."

"How lovely!" the woman slightly clapped her hands. "I'm sure it must be bigger than mine here," she chuckled. Nino's look fell onto a small but beautifully coloured flower bouquet that his mother had placed in the centre of the table – also in all of his favourite colours.

"It's _huge_ ," Nino said and then playfully rolled his eyes. "He went overboard completely. I needed to leave it at work and it's taking half of my desk space. But yes, it's lovely. Your flowers are lovely, too, though!"

Nino's mother laughed, highly amused, and when Nino looked at Sho, the young man was laughing too, his eyes formed into cute little crescents and his perfect teeth showing through his smile. Nino's heart jumped a little bit.

"Actually, I also wanted to invite your son for dinner, but he was very clear when he told me that he can't miss dinner with his mother, so that's why I'm here," Sho then added, smiling. He then looked at Nino again. "I still plan to kidnap him for a drink later on, though."

"What? You didn't say anything," Nino said, hoping that he wasn't blushing even more. He didn't even know why hearing this made him so happy right now but somehow, he just couldn't help it.

"What a nice idea!" his mother seemed to be supportive of it, too.

"But you really don't need to –" Nino murmured, slightly embarrassed.

His mother nudged him in the side. "Come on, Kazu, your boss is inviting you, don't be rude and just accept!"

"Well... OK, then, thank you," her son finally accepted.

"But first, we need to eat the cake!" his mother exclaimed, rolling her wheelchair to the fridge and opening it up to get the cake. Sho immediately jumped up from his place, simultaneously with Nino, but he was closer to reach out to lend her a helping hand.

"Where can I get the plates?" Sho asked the woman, who thankfully indicated where the young man could find said objects.

It didn't take long until the table was set for dessert and they were ready to cut the cake – not before Nino's mother had sung her son a birthday song, which she insisted on, and in which even Sho joined in, his voice sounding deep and warm and very pleasant to Nino's ears.

For a moment, Nino was close to tears, although he hoped that with the shimmering candles in front of him, it didn't show too much. He blew the candles, Sho and his mother clapped their hands, and Nino chuckled softly while he cut the cake and handed out one piece each on the prepared plates. As predicted, the cake was a little too sweet for Nino's taste but paired with a cup of green tea, it was perfect, and he really liked the flavours his mother chose for him. Sho was so delighted that he asked for seconds, which Nino's mother gladly provided him with.

\+ + +

When Sho took Nino out for the promised drink, it kind of felt different from before, to ride in Sho's car, _Emily_. Sho was a good driver, Nino had to give him that, and the choice of music was more than acceptable too, nothing too crazy. Instead, unexpectedly but in a pleasant way, Sho seemed to be a fan of jazz, which Nino didn't mind.

Things were slightly strange today, Nino thought. He just couldn't explain to himself, why. Did something change about Sho? Was it still about the flowers from Jun? Was Aiba right and that weird, unresolved tension between Nino and his boss was based on Sho being jealous of Jun daring to ask Nino out openly, while he didn't? He was in fact acting a bit weird, but still, this did not make enough sense. It would imply that Sho was interested in Nino, perhaps even in a romantic way, but why should he? And on top of everything, Sho was dating Keiko.

They arrived at the "Akatsuki", which wasn't a surprising choice to Nino, since Sho often informed him – in a drunken state, but very passionately – that the izakaya had the best drinks and snacks in the area and that he – quote – "would never want to go anywhere else for a good drink". Nino didn't mind it. He liked the atmosphere, as well as the barkeeper, Mr Ohno, who had taken care of Sho quite a bit during his alcoholic escapades until Nino arrived to take the baton.

It was a surprise though, that this time, Sho didn't take place at the bar directly, but let a waitress guide him and Nino to one of the tables in the back of the izakaya, which gave them much more privacy than usual. Sho ordered a beer for starters for the two of them, they toasted once more to Nino's birthday, which felt weird, because he usually only toasted with his mom and then with Aiba at the next possible occasion. It was the first time in a long while that he was actually going out on his birthday.

It was also surprising, that apparently, Nino and Sho found quite a few topics to talk about. Like when Sho asked Nino how he usually spent his lunch breaks and Nino took it as a chance to elaborate a bit on his like for nature and his hobbies, or when Nino asked Sho about his choice of music in the car, and the man started to rave about a variety of great jazz concerts that he was able to visit during his trip to Europe.

They shared a few small snacks, like a plate of edamame and a serving of karaage while continuing to talk about this and that, and Nino ordered a few more beers, while – also surprisingly – Sho after his first one stuck to non-alcoholic beverages. Nino felt it was a good idea to praise Sho, who seemed to have struggled a little with his decision, so Nino appreciated it even more. His boss was responsible enough to say that since he was driving, of course, he wouldn't take in so much alcohol. Maybe, Nino should make Sho drive him more often if this meant he wouldn't get drunk so often.

So while Sho stayed sober, Nino started to get a little tipsier with each sip of his beer. He really wasn't much of a drinker, but good beer was something he couldn't say no to, and the one they served in the Izakaya was from a small brewery he'd never heard about before, but it was really delicious. If all of the alcohol here had such a high quality, Nino couldn't blame Sho too much for calling this his favourite place.

A bit later, Nino excused himself to the toilet, and when he came back, he found himself a little dizzy. He even stumbled shortly, enough to make a squeaky sound and to alarm Sho, who immediately jumped up and caught Nino in his arms.

Nino blushed and tried to straighten up again, but the dizziness stayed and so, in the end, he was thankful that Sho helped him sit back down, even if somehow this way they both landed at the same side of the table instead of opposite to each other with the table between them. Sho ordered a glass of water for Nino, to help him clear his head a little, and while Nino tried to chuckle away the sudden nervousness that he felt spreading, sitting so close to Sho, they kept talking.

"Actually, I was wondering about something," Sho suddenly switched from their conversation about baseball to another topic. "The other night... when you picked me up from here –"

"Which night? There have been plenty," his secretary interrupted him quickly, giggling.

Sho tilted his head in agreement but tried further. "That night in which I told you about not wanting to become the president of my father's company?"

"Wait," Nino frowned, and gave his boss a confused look. Yeah, he was tipsy, but he was not tipsy enough to not catch on this. "I thought you don't remember anything from when you're drunk."

Taking a deep breath, Sho said, "What if I told you I do?"

"Wait, what?!" The speed of Nino's heartbeat suddenly doubled up and no, it wasn't the alcohol's fault.

"I remember everything we talked about," Nino's boss confessed. "And I also remember... that I kissed you once."

"You remember that?" Nino could hear his own voice break.

Sho nodded. "Yeah."

"Then why did you lie to me and pretend you didn't?!" the other man burst. The confusion was real, this didn't make any sense to Nino, at all.

Sho looked at him, a little guilty.

"I didn't want to make things between us even more awkward than they already are," he tried to explain. "I mean... things are complicated enough, already... and if I pretended it didn't happen or if I pretended that I forgot about it, what's the difference?"

"There's a huge difference!" Nino exclaimed.

He couldn't believe Sho's words. He knew, he was pretty worked up by now, the alcohol was already having some effect on him and probably making him even more emotional than usual, so he tried his best to calm himself down. He didn't want to risk a fight between them, now that they were finally spending a really nice evening together, finally getting to know each other better after so many years of not hearing from each other at all... And he by any means needed to avoid the breakout of a rash, which he definitely didn't need at a moment like this. 

Nino breathed in and breathed out, slowly, calming down. But seriously, how could Sho just drop a truth bomb like that so casually while they were sitting here, way too close to each other and Nino way too tipsy to trust his own actions?!

"Let's just not talk about this, please," Nino finally added, deciding this was possibly the best way to handle this confession right now, and reaching for the glass of water in front of him.

"But, now, I _want_ to talk about it," Sho said carefully, his voice sounding gentle.

The man turned his whole body to face his secretary better, and then even touched Nino's arm. The secretary's look first brushed Sho's hand and then wandered up to Sho's eyes. He was so damned close...

"And I want to kiss you again," Sho whispered.

For a second, Nino forgot how to breathe.

_What did he just say?_

Then, once he fully comprehended the meaning behind the words that had just left Sho's pretty lips, he drew in a hectic breath, chuckled nervously and tried to focus back on his water. The glass was half full. Or was it half empty? Nino didn't know what to think anymore.

"You're making fun of me," he murmured, shaking his head slightly.

"No, I mean it," Sho said, his face absolutely serious.

Nino chuckled once more, but when Sho's expression did not change, he turned serious, too.   
"Even _if_ you'd mean it, which I seriously doubt, I don't think this would be a good idea."

"Why not?" his boss asked. Now, there was a small cute pout on his face that Nino couldn't help but notice. "I think I'm a good kisser, you might like it."

"Sakurai-san, please..."

"Oh, come on, Nino..."

Nino's heart skipped a beat. 

"Only friends call me like that," he bubbled, defensively.

Sho didn't stop looking straight at him. "Then let's be friends."

"Friends don't kiss," Nino dared to point out, arching an eyebrow.

"Lovers do," Sho retorted.

Nino snorted. " _That_ 's something we definitely are not."

"Just let me kiss you, and we'll see where we'll get from there," his boss suggested, and Nino couldn't believe that he was really serious about what he just said. It sounded so ridiculous.

"How can you even say something like that?" Nino asked, frowning deeply. There were quite a few things they should set straight here, so he just continued talking. "If you're making fun of me, this is definitely not funny. I'm also not in for a one-night stand if that's what you're aiming for, just so you know. Are you planning to date me? What about your girlfriend, Keiko? You're already dating _her_ , I don't want to be just a secret affair or something like that!"

"OK, stop. I think I need to make a correction there," Sho cut in. "Keiko and I, we are _fake_ -dating."

" _Fake-dating_?!" Nino snorted. "Any more surprising news you want to share? You don't actually expect me to believe that, do you? Why would you even do that, to begin with?"

His boss sighed before he replied.

"Here's the thing. My parents wanted me to get married, so they tried to set me up with Keiko, who I knew from school," he started. "However, I don't want to. At least, I don't want to marry Keiko or any other woman." 

Nino didn't get it. 

"It's fine because Keiko doesn't want to be with me, either. So, we came to the conclusion that for the sake of our parents, we're going to pretend, while each of us can have our own love life as we please. You see, she's dating a rock star quite a bit older than her and I... let's say this fake-relationship with Keiko is just as far as I want to take any relationship with a woman."

"You mean you're not into women?" Nino asked, just to confirm.

"Exactly. I'm into men," Sho nodded. He took a deep breath. "More precisely, I'm into you."

 _This is too good to be true. This can't be real, there must be a catch!_ Nino thought, quickly averting his eyes. He took a long sip from his water. And another one, to finish it.

"I – I don't know what to say right now, I think this is crazy," he finally stammered.

He could feel Sho's hand slowly slipping down his arm until it reached his hand. He didn't do anything against it when Sho intertwined their fingers and gently pressed Nino's hand. The only thing Nino could do at this moment was trying not to freak out. He unintentionally answered the grip of Sho's hand a little bit. Or was it intentional? Was his body reacting before his brain? He ended up clenching Sho's hand, feeling his cheeks burning from heat, and his heart pounding in his throat.

If this was real... if Sho had just confessed to Nino that he wanted to kiss him, that he was into him... could he really believe him? They had gotten along so poorly ever since Sho came back to Japan. Maybe, Nino had had just too much alcohol and was dreaming right now? It would explain why tonight was so entirely different from anything else before. But this didn't change their situation of being boss and secretary now, instead of childhood friends, and if this wasn't complicated enough, there was still the fact that Sho didn't remember anything from their past. So, how exactly could it have happened that he ended up liking Nino? Was he only acting up because of Jun's advances towards his secretary or did he really mean what he said? There were so many questions that Nino couldn't ask but _needed_ the answers to.

"Just tell me if I don't have a chance," Sho whispered, pressing Nino's hand again, causing the other man to look back at him.

"I-I'm so confused," was everything that Nino could reply.

"It could be so simple if you just let it happen," Sho said. "So... what will happen if I try to kiss you again? Will you push me away like you did last time?"

"I'm still sorry about that," Nino murmured.

Sho shook his head. "It's OK. I know that I surprised you back then. But this time, I'm giving you a heads up, so what will you do?"

The look in Sho's eyes was speaking from longing, it was piercing, and it made Nino's heart tumble. If he didn't know before that this was what he wanted, all this time, then he was certain now.

"Maybe," he started, his voice barely a whisper, his eyes focused on Sho's, "Maybe you should just give it a try."

And Sho didn't need to be told twice. He carefully leaned a bit forward, his eyes still locked with Nino's, until he closed them before he bridged the last few centimetres between them. Nino too, closed his eyes, just slightly wetted his lips, and took a deep breath. His heart was pounding like crazy, and he probably could never _really_ be prepared for what was following, but he was eager to find out.

This time, when they kissed, it wasn't a shock. It wasn't causing a kneejerk reaction resulting in confused hearts and injured heads. This time, when they kissed, it felt like a long-kept secret dream coming true. 

Nino was hoöding his breath when Sho's lips first brushed his, softly, just a touch of warm skin on skin. He slowly moved his lips a tiny little bit, to indicate that the contact was welcome, inviting Sho to keep going. Sho let go off Nino's hand to change their position a little and make it more comfortable, without breaking the contact of their lips. Then, there was Sho's hand running up Nino's arm, his sensitive neck, causing him to shiver a little bit until Sho's long fingers came to rest at the back of Nino's head and his thumb gently brushed the skin of his ear. His other hand found its way to Nino's lower back and caused a little tingle running up Nino's spine.

The young man shivered slightly, he gasped, and he couldn't help but sigh into their kiss, while Sho moved still a little closer, smoothly, his hold on the other man making Nino want to press his whole body against the other man. Nino took a breath when their lips shortly parted, and reached his hands towards Sho, letting them settle on the man's hips and pulling himself a little bit closer. Their lips found each other again, almost instantly.

Again, this gentle touch, but this time, it was just the beginning. Their movements sped up, their lips pressed against each other, again and again, soft but eager. The touches were becoming a bit more sloppy, quicker, more demanding, more passionate, and it took just a few seconds until they were completely lost in their kiss. 

It felt _so good_ that Nino wished, it would never end.

Of course, all good things had to come to an end. So did the kiss with Sho, the one after that and the one after that, and so did their evening. Being quite tipsy, Nino was glad that his boss was still up to drive him home, but since he had already crossed the line of trusting himself with his actions, Nino insisted on getting out of the car and into his apartment by himself.

He could walk, it wasn't a problem, even if he had to admit that his knees felt a bit weak when he remembered the kisses he just shared with Sho. However, he wasn't sure if he could resist inviting Sho inside if the man would bring him to the door. He wanted to keep this for another time. First, he definitely wanted to nurture what they started to build tonight, and make it bloom, slowly but steadily. So, all that Nino did was thank the other man for the wonderful evening, kiss him once more, get out of the car, and enter his apartment, closing the door behind him.

This night, Nino went to bed drunk, for the first time in a long while. Drunk, not only on the extremely delicious beer he had discovered at the "Akatsuki", but also drunk on his feelings for Sho, that had been suppressed for so long but now were finally completely unleashed. Even if Nino didn't fully know yet how things would progress from now on, he knew that things would change, probably for the better. He really hoped so.

\+ + +

Nino was happy that his birthday had been on a Friday. He didn't have a real hangover on Saturday, at least not from the alcohol. He was still a little overwhelmed by his feelings though, as well as the happenings from the previous night.

The first thing he thought when he woke up in the morning was that everything had been a dream. He and Sho _kissed_ , not only once, that just could have been way too good to be true. However, a look on his private phone screen and a text from Sho was all that Nino needed to get right back to reality. A reality, in which Sho had indeed kissed him and Nino had kissed Sho back.

The secretary blushed when he read the message Sho had sent him.

It simply read, _"You are cute when you're tipsy, but I hope you don't have a hangover today."_

Nino pressed his phone against his chest, his heartbeat speeding up, and he was feeling all tingly inside when he allowed himself to fully dive back into the memory of what had happened.

Sho had confessed that he _remembered exactly_ and _everything_ that he had done or said when he was drunk, including his first kissing attempt with Nino. He had also confessed that he was only fake-dating Keiko, and had confessed that in reality, he was into Nino and the biggest thing of the evening had been their mutual kiss.

A _real_ kiss, this time, one that ended without bumps on Sho's head or Nino going up in a stress reaction and instead lead to _even more kisses_! It had just been so good... something that young Nino had barely allowed himself to dream about, years ago, something that current Nino had never thought would become real, but now it had, and Nino couldn't wait to repeat it.

"Thank you for inviting me for my birthday. Thanks for being honest with me and thanks for kissing me, I really liked that," he typed as a reply.

He hesitated a little before sending the message, but screw insecurities. They _had_ been kissing, after all, and he had _loved_ it, that was a fact and if Nino planned to make this a regular thing, he should probably try to set this straight with Sho from the beginning.

Sho's answer came in, immediately. _"I liked that too. I meant what I said. I really do like you. And I hope you're on board when I want to kiss you again, next time."_

Nino clenched his phone and he could have squealed from happiness at that moment. Which was what he did, before he sent another reply.

"I'm in!" he had typed. "I'm glad you told me the truth. I didn't spell it out yesterday, but I guess you already figured that I like you too."

Blushing, Nino put away his phone and jumped up to take a shower and get ready for the day. Maybe, he could keep up texting a bit with Sho or even call him later on. He was already thinking about what they could talk about.

Anyway, he had also scheduled lunch with Aiba, who wanted to celebrate Nino's birthday with his best friend, too, before spending the rest of the day gaming. Nino would probably also tell Aiba in all details how things with Sho had progressed, and he was already curious about his friend's reaction to the news.

\+ + +

Of course, Aiba was super excited for Nino when he heard about what happened the previous night. He even wanted to hear all the details up to exactly how Sho kissed Nino, and stuff like that, but Nino decided that there were a few things that he did not need his best friend to know. So the details about the kiss stayed a secret and when Aiba asked his best friend if Sho perhaps spent the night at his place, Nino had just playfully slapped his shoulder. They weren't _that_ far yet after all and Nino did not want to rush things. So far, everything still felt like a dream.

As Nino had kind of hoped for, he and Sho had kept texting over the whole weekend, about little things, like Sho asking Nino for ideas about what he should eat for lunch, exchanged movie recommendations, casually setting up a movie date for the near future, and Nino telling Sho about the game he was about to play with Aiba for the rest of the day.

It was fun to read when Sho texted him that one day he'd like to watch Nino playing his favourite game, and Nino was tempted to invite his boss over on the spot, but in the end, he didn't. Not yet. He wanted to take things slow, enjoy them, and explore this new thing between them, thoroughly. As much as he wanted to hang out on cloud nine, in the end, things weren't that easy, after all.

He couldn't completely ignore the fact that he and Sho might have completely different views on their new-found relationship. While for Nino, his past feelings for Sho were still a huge part of his life, Sho didn't have that. Taking this into account, Nino found it quite wondersome that Sho happened to fall for him. How exactly? Why? Nino couldn't think of any exceptionally good qualities about himself that made him worthy to fall in love with.

"You're a cute guy, you are smart, and you have a great personality!" 

Of course, Aiba immediately scolded Nino when he voiced his doubts. 

"Don't you dare even to think of not being worthy or something stupid like this. If something, I think that your boss is not worthy of you! He's been quite an idiot if I might say. But still, I support you guys. It's your dream finally coming true."

About the "being an idiot"-thing, Nino pleasantly noticed that Sho, in one of his messages, even apologized for that.

_"For some reason, a lot of times when facing other people, my brain doesn't function properly. I end up saying stupid things or behaving like a jerk, although it's not what I intend to do. It makes me react strangely and causes misunderstandings, and I am sorry for being such an idiot sometimes. I was impolite to you when there was no reason for it, and I snapped at you when you did nothing wrong. I think I'm just not that great in communicating with people."_

Nino smirked at Sho's text. It was already worth a lot that Sho was insightful about his behaviour and, of course, Nino knew that he himself was far from perfect, as well.

"When it comes to you, I tend to overreact. So, I'm also sorry for snapping at you or being impolite. Especially as your secretary, I should be more careful."

_"I deserve it, really! Thank you for all your hard work all the time. I really appreciate it, you're the best secretary I can have."_

Nino smirked at the compliment. It felt truly honest and if he had any feeling of being mistreated by Sho before, everything felt OK now. He didn't know what exactly had made the magic work if the trigger might have been Sho being jealous of Jun to realise what he really felt for Nino if it had been them being honest to each other if it had been that magical kiss... but Nino didn't care. The strange tension between him and Sho was finally gone. He didn't mind how, he just hoped that with this, things would continue to become even better.

\+ + +

Exchanging text messages and even a few short phone calls with Sho throughout the whole weekend had been such bliss and very insightful. In the end, Nino had actually felt that Sho did not even change as much as he thought from the boy he was before he left to Europe. He was simply not showing all of his emotions to the outside anymore. The Sho now was more enigmatic, more introverted, also more clumsy, but the more they talked to each other, the better Nino could understand why Sho was the way he was and the only thing he discovered was that he loved him anyway.

They talked about Sho's time in Europe, how the language barrier had made it hard for him to connect to other people in the beginning, how the distance had made him grow estranged to his parents and how disconnected and strange he had felt when coming back to Japan. As if he didn't know where he belonged to. How he ended up wishing he could fulfil his own dreams rather than his parents' (Nino still had to find out what exactly those dreams were, as Sho kept silent about them so far) but he continued to feel obliged to them because of all the possibilities they had given him. His fear of disappointing them. That all of these things were the reasons why he turned towards drinking instead of properly facing his issues.

"You have me to talk to from now on," Nino texted Sho on Sunday evening. "I'll always be there for you."

_"I wished I could jump through my phone and cover you in kisses, right now. Sorry for being a little excited."_

"It's fine, I'm excited, too," Nino replied.

And it was true. The memories of Friday night were still hoovering in Nino's mind, he was still longing for Sho's lips, so desperately that he had even dreamt of kissing him again.

On Monday morning, Nino was even a little earlier in the office than usual. This was probably because he had not been able to sleep much, too nervous about returning to work, about facing Sho again. He was just about to prepare a few things, like today's meeting schedule and printing out a few important stats that Sho would need to take a look at when a familiar voice startled him.

"Hey."

Nino's heart skipped a beat. It was Sho, and like always, he looked just gorgeous. Maybe today even more than usual.

"Hey," Nino replied, feeling the corners of his lips curling up.

"You're early again, aren't you?" Sho said.

Nino chuckled. "If anyone is _early_ today, it's you," he grinned at his boss, who indeed usually showed up much later in the morning.

"I couldn't wait to see you," the other man whispered, and Nino blushed. Sho looked around as if to check if anyone else was near them, and then looked back at his secretary. "I'd like to see you in my office. Now."

"O-OK," Nino replied, and stood up, following his boss, immediately.

Sho even held the door open for Nino and when they had both entered the room, Sho hurried to his desk, grabbing the remote for the automatic blinds, and closed them. Nino looked back, slightly confused, but when Sho came back to his side, just as fast as he had vanished, looking at him with his eyes full of longing and desire, Nino understood.

They stood there for a few seconds, both feeling a little awkward, looking into each other’s eyes. Nino's heart was now pounding like crazy. He swallowed, his mouth suddenly feeling a bit dry, but he didn't look away. He had been anticipating this, had been _dreaming_ about this!

It was Sho then, who averted his eyes, his face slightly tinted red. It was such a rare sight that it made Nino's heart jump again in excitement. Sho slowly reached his hands up to Nino's arms, and touched them, gently. He took a step towards the secretary, still not daring to look at him, but bringing himself closer into Nino's private space. Automatically, Nino lifted his arms, Sho's hands slipping to his elbows, then wandering to Nino's hips, while Nino's hands reached towards Sho's face.

"Look at me," he whispered, shuffling a little closer to decrease the gap between their bodies. His hands brushed Sho's cheeks, and Sho finally looked at him again. Nino smiled. "I missed you."

Nino didn't know who between them eventually initiated it, but a moment later, they were kissing again. Sho's arms were wrapping tighter around Nino's waist, pressing him close, and Nino's hands were cupping Sho's face, while their lips were pressed together, gently. It was just a light touch at first, like butterfly kisses, but they didn't last long on that level and soon, their lips parted wider, their tongues exploring each other’s mouths and if they didn't still have a whole workday ahead, Nino might have wanted Sho to pick him up and _take_ him right here and right now on his desk.

Of course, Nino didn't say that out loud, but he silently hoped that Sho's thoughts were drifting in the same direction. However, firstly, such things were not for the office and secondly, should be kept for later. Something to look forward too. They were just starting to explore each other and Nino had waited for so long already, they didn't need to rush now.

Their breaths were hitching when they came apart, their lips wet, and cheeks flushed red. Sho's eyes looked a little glassy, as if he was in trance, and Nino couldn't help but caress the man's cheeks while whispering little sweet somethings at him, as if he wanted to bring him back from wherever he currently was.

Sho's eyes cleared up, and he leaned forward to hold Nino even tighter, who felt a little squished by the embrace. He giggled slightly.

"By the way, what happened to the non-dating policy at work?" Nino looked at Sho, teasingly.

"I'm the boss here – well, one of them –, so I guess I can take some liberties," Sho grinned confidently and brushed his lips against Nino's once more before hugging him even closer.

"Cheeky...," Nino chuckled softly, wrapping his arms tighter around Sho.

“I'm sorry," Sho whispered into Nino's ear, making the other wonder.

"What's wrong?" the secretary asked in a low voice.

Sho slowly loosened their embrace again, so that they could look at each other again.

"It's just," he began. "I know I just said that but... I'm sorry but I hope you understand that we need to do such things in secret for now. As I told you, my parents think that Keiko and I... I just can't tell them yet, you see?"

Nino forced himself to smile. He tilted his head, but his eyes did not leave Sho's. As much as he wished that things were simpler, indeed he understood. He couldn't expect Sho to change his whole life on the spot, and they were only _together_ , if you could even call it that, since yeah, when... Friday? Today? When does something like this even officially count? Anyway, Nino understood and so he nodded.

"It's not like I want to hide you or anything," Sho continued his explanation. "I want you to be my boyfriend and I know now that I want to change things, with my job, with... coming out... It's just, I can't do it overnight and I don't think it's the right time to break this news to my parents. So, I hope you can wait for a bit until I can stand up for us."

"It's OK," Nino replied. Hearing Sho telling him he wants to be his boyfriend was already so precious, he almost couldn't handle it. "I understand. Such things take time. I... I have to admit I don't like the idea of being a secret mistress or something, but since you said you and Keiko are not real, I can live with that for a while. And with regards to your parents, I can wait. Let's go through this together."

"Thank you," Sho said, his relief showing clearly on his face. He leaned forward, kissing Nino's forehead lovingly.

They smiled at each other again.

"Oh, by the way," Nino then said, as he thought he should break the news to Sho sooner rather than later, "I'm telling you this because I don't want to keep it a secret but I do plan to go out for dinner with Matsumoto sometime this week."

"What?" Sho looked at the man in his arms, slightly taken aback. "Why?"

"You see, he invited me to that fancy burger restaurant as a birthday present and I love hamburgers and I'd be stupid to let this invitation go to waste, right?"

"Is that a _date_?" Sho arched an eyebrow at Nino.

"No! Don't worry, it's not," the secretary immediately set clear. "It's just dinner, I want to have it out of the way, and I plan to tell him once and for all that I don't want to date him."

"OK...," Sho replied, although Nino could see that he wasn't too fond of the idea. "You really must like burgers, don't you?"

"Almost as much as I like you," Nino grinned and Sho chuckled.

Since it was Monday, it was also time for another "Hana Yashiki" meeting with Jun and his secretary. The meeting seemed to go a little smoother this time, probably because before the meeting, Nino had confirmed with Jun an appointment for dinner on Friday, which seemed to lift the man's spirit quite a bit and since he obviously felt superior to Sho now – the rivalry between those two really was no joke – he even seemed a little laxer when it came to decision making and letting Sho have a little more say than usual.

After the meeting though, Sho pinned Nino against the wall in a hidden corner and stressed that he should try to set things straight with Jun better sooner than later, so he wouldn't get his hopes high. Of course, Sho was right, and Nino already felt a little guilty, but one thing at a time, he would clear up any misunderstanding.

They kissed again, shortly, before they forced themselves to get back to their respective work. They would keep on sneaking kisses in between meetings and other duties throughout the day, even if they didn't know about that yet. Anyway, those automatic blinds in Sho's office turned out to be very convenient.

\+ + +

The days seemed to just fly by through the week, fully packed with work, mixed with little interactions between Nino and Sho, when they managed to find a moment alone. They went out to watch a movie on Tuesday and then dropped by for dinner at the "Akatsuki", where Mr Ohno only sent an approving glance at them when he saw them coming in together again. He must have seen them last week, or at least have some kind of suspicion, but he didn't say anything and just served them his special of the day and some drinks.

Surprisingly, Sho declined his usual glass of whiskey and stuck to Coke, saying that with Nino around he didn't need alcohol to feel good. Nino then also chose to stick to non-alcoholic beverages, as he also felt like wanting to enjoy their evening together as sober as possible. Things were going really well.

When Friday arrived, Nino had already screwed his _we can wait_ way of thinking and was pretty sure that it wouldn't take that long until he and Sho would end up in bed together. The question was only when, where and how _exactly_ they would do it.

Tonight, though, was reserved for Nino's dinner with Jun. Sho called it a "break-up dinner", although Nino insisted that there was nothing to break-up if there wasn't anything going on between two parties.

Nino rejected Sho's offer to drive him to the restaurant where he and Jun were supposed to meet but agreed on contacting him when it was over, in order not to set off Sho even more than he already was. The man tried hard not to show his jealousy – which by now Nino had official proof for that it was, as Sho himself had confessed it – but in the end, it was still obvious. 

Sho had been exceptionally demanding today, trying to catch Nino for secret kisses more often than usual, even offering him to meet him after the dinner and spend some time together. Nino couldn't say that he wasn't tempted to agree on that, so he promised to give Sho a call. The prospects of seeing his boyfriend again after a probably not 100 % comfortable _not-date_ with someone he was about to reject, didn't sound that bad after all.

The secretary already felt bad when he entered the restaurant and the first thing he saw was Jun waving at him from a table in the middle of the room. The restaurant was indeed very fancy for a burger restaurant, modern furniture, a few but very impressive flower arrangements, no eating burger with your hands, apparently, and there was even classical music playing in the background.

Something felt a little off about this place, Nino couldn't help but notice, or maybe he was just too used to normal simple burger and family restaurants. Anyway, Nino would definitely not come here if he wasn't invited. The very fact that the menu was displayed outside of the restaurant, with no prizes mentioned, indicated that he probably would not even be able to afford the simplest hamburger with small fries. However, the expectations about the taste of the burger had just risen when Nino saw a waiter passing by as he walked up to Jun, and the smell was just incredibly delicious.

"You're here!" Jun said, standing up from his seat when Nino approached and walking towards the young man to pull his chair back and allow him to sit down. Wow, those were really gentleman-like actions, the secretary noticed.

"Good evening," Nino said, taking his seat. "Thank you for the invitation."

"It's my pleasure," the other man replied, smiling politely. 

Shortly after, there was a young waitress at their table, providing them with some wet hand towels and water as well as handing each of them a menu. It took Nino half an eternity to decide on one of the burger selections because there were so many good looking options that it seemed impossible to choose. Only when Jun started giving some recommendations, Nino was finally able to narrow down and eventually make a decision.

It didn't take long until their drinks came – apparently, Jun has already ordered some wine for him and Nino – that the waitress served, and Jun lifted his glass to make a small toast for a wonderful evening. Nino smiled at him but tried to keep it neutral, and the same went for the rest of their conversation for that evening. No matter which topics Jun started, no matter what advances he tried to make towards Nino, the secretary, tried to answer as quickly and shortly as possible and did everything to prevent Jun from possibly misinterpreting anything that he said.

When Jun one time reached out his hand over the table, probably to touch Nino's, the young man quickly reached for his glass and therefore smoothly – at least he thought it was – avoided skin contact. Their food was served and soon, it was quiet at the table, both of them busy with eating, only praising the food's taste once in a while, as it was truly delicious. Now, Nino wanted to know the prices for such quality burgers even less.

They had almost finished when Nino remembered, though, that there was something he had actually wanted to ask Jun, so he just got started.

"So, your recent poem," Nino said after he had swallowed down a fork full of delicious meat with sauce, "That was really interesting."

"Thank you," Jun toasted at him.

"I wanted to ask; do you write often?" Nino said.

He still had not forgotten that short moment of suspicion about Jun possibly being the one who wrote that journal that was still lying on Nino's bedside table, read all over, each and every single page of it.

With all the turmoil around Sho recently, his initial mission of trying to find out whom it belonged to had fallen quietly into the background, actually. However, if he was going to set things with Jun straight, he should also clear up this possibility, first. Nino had talked to Aiba about this, who agreed that the suspicion was at least justified. Jun was obviously the creative type. Not only his poem for Nino but also his contributions to the "Hana Yashiki" meetings were proof of that. He also worked in another office building nearby, but it wasn't too far from the park Nino usually went for lunch break. He even mentioned that he lost a notebook, once, and even if Nino did not know the exact time when that happened, there was at least a slight chance that the journal currently in Nino's possession, _was_ what Jun had lost. If anything, he at least wanted to give the notebook back to its rightful owner.

"Not _that_ often, actually," Jun replied after thinking for a moment. "Recently, I'm rather into photography."

"Oh, is that so?" Nino frowned. Maybe, he was wrong, after all. "Then you didn't happen to lose that notebook you mentioned, only recently?"

Jun shook his head, slightly confused. "No, no, that's been a long time ago."

"I see. Then it's my mistake, I'm sorry."

Jun flashed a slightly confused look at Nino, but the secretary just waved his hand. This was enough to shake his theory.

They continued eating, and Nino felt his thoughts wandering off to the black journal again, wondering, whom it could belong to, and what else he could do to find that out, to give it back and shower the author with positive feedback. Although he would really like to meet the writer in person, Nino had also thought about just bringing the journal back to where he found it, the bench in the park, and leave it there as a last resort. He had taken notes on most of the work by now, and even if it was just a sentence or two, he could just put them into the journal and hope the owner would pick it up again and read them. Maybe he would miss the writer that way, but it was more important to get it back to its rightful owner. But what was if someone else took it while Nino wasn't watching? Or what would happen if it started raining? He couldn't risk it to get all dirty and ruined...

"Ninomiya-san?" Nino heard Jun's voice breaking through his thoughts. "Are you listening to me?"

"I'm sorry," the secretary replied. "I was in my thoughts. What did you say?"

"I am wondering if you are interested in coming over to my place afterwards," Jun said, throwing Nino a certain look. "I would love to continue hanging out and... getting to know each other better."

Nino knew that code, and even if he still wasn't completely sure if Jun was only interested in him for tonight, for a one-night stand only perhaps, or if he intended to take things with Nino seriously, he didn't approve of what it implied. And he couldn't make Jun think any longer that he actually had a chance, no matter how nice and charming he was to him. Nino's heart was taken already. Had always been taken, by no one else but Sho.

Slowly, the young man swallowed his bite of meat and put down the knife and fork, folding his hands.

"Uhm... listen, Matsumoto-san," he started. Actually, Nino had planned to wait until after dinner for this, but perhaps this was the best opportunity to get it over. "I am really grateful for your nice gestures, the flowers, this invitation... the food is really amazing! And I know you'd like to... deepen our relationship,” whatever that exactly meant. "However... I really have to say that my being flattered is that and everything to that. If you were hoping for more, I am sorry to disappoint you but I am not interested in going out with you."

There was no immediate reaction from Jun, who just stared at Nino for a few seconds. Nino became slightly insecure. Maybe, he indeed should have waited until after dinner with this conversation. But what’s said was said and there was nothing he could do about it now. At least, he definitely did not intend to take his words back.

"Are you being serious?" Jun eventually asked, putting down his own silverware.

"Excuse me?" Nino asked, frowning at the suddenly stern tone of the other man's voice.

Jun pulled his table napkin from his collar and put it down on the table, maybe a bit harder than necessary, so that the tableware clattered slightly. Surprised, Nino drew back a bit, not expecting the sudden change of atmosphere.

"You agreed to have dinner with me and now... Can you really reject me as simply as that?" Jun looked at him from the other side of the table. He looked disappointed but was obviously trying to hold his composure.

"I am really sorry, but to be completely honest...," Nino started, trying to stay firm but friendly, "My heart already belongs to someone else."

"I don't believe it!” Jun yelled, loud enough to make half of the room turned, and definitely loud enough to alarm one guest in particular, who must have been hiding nearby at one of the tables.

Things after that happened really fast. Suddenly, there was Sho standing next to Jun – what was he even doing here?! – grabbing his rival's collar and pulling him up from his seat. A woman nearby screeched, surprised, when Sho pushed Jun away. Nino, immediately on high alert, jumped up from his seat, his hands pushed down on the table.

"Sakurai-san!"

But before he could say more, Sho already pulled back one fisted hand and now pushed it forward until his knuckles touched Jun's face. Instinctively, Jun already stepped back a little, so that the other man's hit barely brushed the corner of his mouth, but nevertheless, it must hurt, as the Matsumoto Group's heir reached up with one hand to cover the spot, groaning, and his hand came off with a small trace of blood on it. Nino cringed at the sight.

"Don't you ever dare raising your voice in front of him, idiot!" Sho grumbled at Jun.

"Sakurai-san, he didn't even _do_ anything, we were just talking!” Nino wanted to clarify. He didn't know what had gotten to Sho that made him freak out so suddenly.

"Excuse me, Sirs, but I need to ask you to leave," a waiter stepped closer, trying to dissolve the tension. However, he was completely ignored.

"You are the idiot," Jun hissed, obviously provoked by Sho's behaviour. He jumped forward, his own bloody hand fisted, and ready to punch back.

Unfortunately, Sho's reflexes weren't as quick as Jun's, and so, Jun hit him full force in the face.

"SHO!"

Nino clasped his hands in front of his mouth, his boss groaned, tumbling back, covering his face with both hands and when he dared to pull them away, there was a splash of red liquid running from his nose. The room filled with surprised gasps and this time, at least three women screamed. 

Nino's pulse quickened, his breath started hitching, and panic rose inside of him. He felt the worry about Sho's state crawling up inside of him just as fast as he could feel a rash crawling up his skin. No no no no no, this was not the time for such a stress reaction, he had to do something, or the situation would escalate even more and those two idiots in front of him would knock each other into the hospital.

"Sirs!" the waiter spoke up, trying to rise above the turmoil with his voice, but it was an impossible task, especially, since he didn't seem brave enough to step closer towards the two men and kept a safe distance.

"Fuck!" Sho yelled, "That _hurt_!" and if Nino hadn't started running and wasn't jumping in between him and Jun, he didn't want to know what would happen next.

"STOP!" Nino screamed from the top of his lungs, drawing Jun's as well as Sho's attention to him, both staring at him now. Well, usually, Nino didn't get that loud, but the situation right now wasn't usual and called for special methods. "Both of you, just stop, OK?! We're not in kindergarten here, step back!"

Nino had jumped right into the middle of his fight, probably more surprised by his quick feet more than anybody else, especially because his knees were shaking now. He could feel his heart beating in his throat, could feel the blood rushing through his veins. By now, half of his body felt itchy, but this was not the time for something like that. He swallowed and pulled himself together. He knitted his eyebrows and took a deep breath before he looked left to right, glaring at both men while making sure none of them came close to each other again.

When he was sure that he had brought a safe distance between them, that Sho wasn't about to faint any second, and both had calmed down enough to turn their attention towards the secretary, he continued.

"You two – we're getting out of here," Nino said. "This is not the place for such a scene. No, wait, Sakurai-san, you go first. Matsumoto-san, follow me."

The two obeyed and got ready to step outside. The young waitress who had been serving Nino and Jun's table came running towards Jun, slightly nervous, the young man pulled out a few bills from his wallet – probably way too many – and pressed them into her hands before he resumed walking after Nino, keeping some distance from Sho.

Nino guided them towards his car that he had parked not far from the restaurant and ordered them to take a seat, one of them in the back, the other together with him in the front. Matsumoto had taken the backseat after receiving a glare from Sho that could have killed, and once all the doors were closed, Nino threw some paper tissues towards both men so they could clean their faces. Then, he turned around in the driver's seat so that he was facing both of them, his look no less lethal than Sho's from before.

"Ninomiya-san –" the Matsumoto Group's heir started but was immediately cut.

"WHAT?!" the secretary snapped, probably more aggressive than he had intended to be. At least, Jun's tone was back to normal again, probably a sign that Nino's outburst was impressive enough.

"I'm sorry but... are you having an allergic reaction or something?"

Damned, Jun seemed to have noticed that something was wrong with Nino. Sho also looked at him with worry, but honestly, Nino just didn’t want to think about it. Not now. It would just become worse if he paid attention to it.

"No, it's nothing, just ignore it," he murmured, therefore, squinting his eyes and trying his best to keep his fingers off the itching skin. He even fisted his hands, so hard that he could feel the pain caused by his fingernails pressing into his palms.

"But –"

"I said, _ignore it_. So, can we talk like grown-up people now? Great. So, listen!" Nino started, shooting glares between Sho and Jun before his eyes eventually focused on Jun. "Matsumoto-san, I would very much appreciate it if you didn’t just hit my boss so brutally right into his face!"

"But _he_ –"

"I _know_ he started, but that's no reason for a grown-up man to punch back! And I'm really sorry for hurting you with my rejection, but it can't be helped. I'm fine with being business partners or even friends with you if you are interested in that, but more than that is just not possible," he said, the look in his eyes softened a little bit to a mixture of regret and determination.

Regret that he had to hurt him, as Jun had been so nice to him, but determination because he knew it was the right thing to do to tell him the truth. Regarding their past, Nino had managed to make peace with that. He knew that Jun had changed, from a young bully who didn't know how to deal with the power and status that he had been given since birth, to a respectable adult, maybe a little overconfident, but overall a very nice guy. He probably did not mean to raise his voice at Nino, if Nino had not hurt him first by rejecting him. It was a human reaction. It just showed that he truly cared and was not just playing with Nino. At least, that was what the secretary wanted to believe. He wanted to treat Jun and his feelings with respect, even if he couldn't reciprocate them. It was just not possible and that was his own fault. His heart already belonged to someone else. Always had, and always will.

"And YOU!" he turned his head towards the man who had stolen his heart and took a deep breath. "What were you even _thinking_?! First, have you been following us?! And second, what made you _jump_ at Matsumoto-san like a lunatic, punching him out of the blue?”

Sho looked back at Nino, guilty. "I thought he was going to do something to you... I was worried, I misinterpreted the situation and jumped to conclusions,” the man explained. "I am sorry...”

"Don't tell _me_ , you're sorry, tell Matsumoto-san!” Nino replied. "Do not just start a fight with our business partner and... Do not let someone just punch you in the face like that, oh my gosh I was so _scared_..."

"I am sorry for raising my voice," Jun murmured from the backseat, looking at Nino sheepishly. "And I'm sorry for punching back,” the man even addressed Sho.

"Thank you, Matsumoto-san, apology accepted," Nino replied. "But seriously, both of you, there is no reason why two grown men should start to hit each other, especially in a public setting, you get it?! Not only is it completely childish, but you both also have reputations to keep!"

"Got it," Sho murmured, finally saying _something_.

"Sorry...," Jun said again, in a low voice.

Nino then raised an eyebrow at Sho, as if to tell him _look, he's a decent guy who can stand up for his mistakes, now do the same_.

"I'm sorry, Matsumoto-san,” Sho mumbled. Jun just looked at him but said nothing.

Nino sighed and lifted his hands to carefully press them against both sides of his neck. The pressure helped to calm down the itching feeling for a bit. Yeah, he could do this, he had this under control. The issue was almost solved, right?

"Matsumoto-san, are you hurt?" the secretary eventually asked, pointing at the slightly red stained tissue in the man's hand.

"Not really,” Jun shrugged before his lips turned into a smirk. "That guy over there hits like a kid."

"I –" Sho wanted to defend himself, but Nino just lifted one of his hands and the two other men stopped talking immediately.

"Please, don't say anything further. Matsumoto-san, I apologize for everything from my end, but if you're doing fine, please just leave for tonight, OK?"

Jun sighed, crossing his hands in front of his chest. "Fine. I'll leave."

"Again, thanks for the invitation," Nino added.

"Yeah, sure...," Jun murmured, although he still seemed to be disappointed, and finally reached his hand to the car door handle, opening the door and stepping outside.

"And you are coming with me! I need to take a closer look at that," Nino sighed, pointing at Sho's injured face, who just sat there, like a lost sheep.

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

Actually, Nino wanted to drive Sho to the hospital to get his nose checked, but the man insisted that it was _not broken_ and that Nino was over-reacting. And that's what probably happened. 

To be honest, Nino was stressed out completely about the whole situation, with everything breaking free to such a full extent. Only now, after Jun had left, Sho saw Nino's shaking hands and offered to drive. But Nino insisted that he had everything under control, took a deep breath, and so, in the end, they reached a compromise to drive to Nino's place which was the closest of all options.

Nino definitely had imagined Sho's first visit over to his apartment differently from what it was now – him shooing Sho inside into the living room, forcing him to sit down and he himself vanishing into the bathroom to get the first aid kit. His hands were still shaking, and so he wasn't even surprised when he dropped the first aid kit after pulling it out from the cabinet underneath the sink. He cursed and clenched his hands to stop the shaking.

He tried to calm down and purposefully avoided looking into the mirror in front of him. He was scared of what he might see. Judging from the feeling of his burning skin, he must have a rash on both sides of his neck, even reaching up to the bottom of his ears and the sides of his cheeks. It must look bad, or at least it showed enough for people to notice. Jun had pointed it out and Sho had seen it too. Nino even felt Sho's eyes on him for the whole drive here.

Hastily, Nino splashed his face with cold water and did his usual quick first-aid treatment with a cold wet hand towel for a few seconds on the affected parts of his skin, just to numb the worst itching. He wasn't really convinced that it was helping at the moment, though, he was still too worked up.

However, he didn't have time for that now, Sho was waiting in the living room with a bruised face and even if the man claimed that he was fine, Nino would only believe it once he had checked him properly. That punch was not _nothing_ , and had looked horrible, and all the blood... Nino squinted his eyes and pulled himself together. He reached down to the floor, picking up the first aid kit and hurried back to Sho.

"Are you OK? What's wrong?" Sho asked, confused when Nino came back.

"I'm fine," the secretary said, kneeling down in front of Sho. He put the first aid kit onto the coffee table and opened it, reaching for some disinfectant spray, a hand towel and some crème in case they needed it. "We'll take care of you now."

Nino put some of the disinfectants onto the small hand towel and reached his hand out to Sho's face. Although the man had cleared most of the blood by now with a paper towel, there were still a few traces left. Thankfully, the bleeding from his nose seemed to have stopped now, at least.

"No, Ninomiya-san, stop it," Sho pulled back a little, the look in his eyes serious. "I'm worried! I mean, look at you, you're completely worked up and your skin... there's obviously something wrong and I want you to tell me the truth. Are you having an allergic reaction? Like when you visited my parents? Was it something you ate; do you need medicine, or shall I get _you_ to the hospital?"

"NO!" Nino yelled, squinting his eyes for a moment. _Don't think about it!_ "Just _don't talk_ about it, _please_! Now let me check your face. Here, hold this."

The secretary reached out again, pushed the small bottle of disinfectant into the other man's hands to keep him busy and proceeded to carefully clean his boss' face. Not only his nose had been hit from one side, also the whole area around that was affected. At least, the skin looked reddened – which would turn into blue, soon, probably – and there was a scratch on the lower front of his cheek, presumably caused by some of the jewellery Jun wore.

"Ouch!" Sho hissed.

"What?! Where does it exactly hurt? Is it your nose? Shouldn't we better let it get checked by a professional?!" Nino immediately freaked out a little.

His boyfriend shook his head. "No, well yes, my nose hurts, but not that bad, but that stuff _burns_!"

"Well, yes, it's to disinfect wounds, it _has_ to burn," Nino replied.

"I don't like it!" Sho pouted.

"Don't be a child now!" Nino snapped and continued his actions. Apparently, there was also a small cut on Sho's lips that burned when the secretary touched it. "Hold still, will you, oh my gosh!"

Sho did as he was instructed, and instead of whining, he focused on watching Nino closely as the young man finally finished the painful cleaning and was now applying a bit of crème to the hurt area on Sho's face. Nino tried to pretend not to notice his boyfriend's gaze on him.

"Are you _that_ mad at me?" Sho suddenly asked carefully.

"I am!" the other man replied instantly. His voice was maybe a little louder than he intended. "First of all, you're hurt! Second, because of that scene you and Matsumoto pulled off in the restaurant, now I have to worry as your secretary what kind of consequences it will have for the business and third, I couldn't even finish my burger!"

Sho chuckled at the last bit but when Nino shot him a death glare, he stopped immediately and quickly apologized.

"I am feeling super stressed due to all of this just in case you can't tell, so please," Nino continued. "Just shut up for a moment and let me do my job!"

"You're shaking like crazy. Please talk to me! What's wrong?" the other man asked again.

"I already told you, I'm feeling stressed!"

"I can see that, but what –"

"OK, listen." 

Nino sighed and dropped his hands after he finished applying the crème on Sho's skin. He hesitated for a little longer but then lifted one hand to vaguely point at his reddened neck area. He averted his eyes and blushed, ashamed about what he would reveal next. His heartbeat quickened again; he could feel his breath shaking when he inhaled deeply. He fisted his hands in his lap. 

"This isn't an allergic reaction; this is the result of a super stressful situation that I obviously can't properly handle."

"A stress reaction?" Sho asked, to make sure he understood correctly.

Nino nodded, still clenching his hands. 

"Yes, and the more we talk about it, the more I think about it, the more I want to..." it was already creeping through all of his thoughts, the idea of just reaching up and _scratch_ that horrible itching feeling away. It was like he was possessed by the idea of it and it was so so hard to fight it! Nino's hands got fidgety. His skin was _burning_ , "Ah, crap! I can't – I can't do this!"

Not being able to contain his composure any longer, Nino jumped up as if stung by a bee, his whole body was shaking now. He pulled off his jacket and almost ripped off the first two buttons of his dress shirt when he tried to free his neck. His hands flew up, deformed into claws, his short fingernails starting to scratch at the reddened skin, trying to loosen the tension. It was a good thing that Nino always kept his nails extra short, otherwise, he probably would have ripped his skin open by now. However, the friction wasn't making things any better after the initial touch sent a signal of relief to his brain cells. Instead, the more he scratched, the worse the itching got. Spinning off in a vicious circle.

Nino wanted to cry. From the pain, and from the shame that ran over him once he realised his defeat. He had fought so strongly against this recently, he had been so good in keeping everything under control, but there, all it took was his boyfriend getting hit in the face and he was experiencing his full-forced personalized panic attack. And as if this wasn't enough, all of that right in front of said boyfriend. Amazing.

"Ninomiya-san, what are you doing, stop it!" Sho had jumped up too by now, panicking.

"I need to scratch it, it itches so horribly that it's painful," Nino whined. He could feel the tears collecting in his eyes.

"But you'll scratch yourself bloody if you continue!" Sho screamed and started trying to get a hold on his secretary, which probably proved more difficult than he expected.

"I can't stop it!" Nino said, his voice cracking. He struggled, not only against himself but also against his boss's grip, who started aiming for Nino's wrists now.

"You can! Listen to me, you can! Look at me!" 

Sho managed to grab Nino's hands, finally. He immediately pulled them down and held onto them, strongly. Instinctively, Nino pulled up his shoulders and tried to rub his neck against them, as if that could substitute the scratching, which of course it did not. 

"Nino, look at me!"

And Nino did, still shaking, his breath hitching, but he couldn't help but notice the switch to his nickname... _What did you call me just now?_

"Everything will be fine, OK?" Sho continued. "You can calm down. First, we'll take care of you and then we can talk. We'll talk about everything you want and try to find solutions. Deal?"

Nino still didn't say anything. He was trying to fight back some more tears. His whole body still felt like it was on fire, but at least the pressure of Sho's fingers clasping around his wrists, which had also started to develop a slight rash in the meantime, felt a little soothing. The man didn't even consider letting go of Nino's hands, and that was a good thing.

"Now tell me what we can do to make this better," Sho asked gently, his worried gaze on his boyfriend. "Do you take any medicine or something?"

Nino shook his head slightly. "Since my overall situation has already improved quite a bit, I'm off medicine nowadays. I need to calm down, sit it out and try not to worsen the damage..."

"So, let's try that. What can we do to make you calm down? Ah... your relaxation music. Does that help?" the other man asked.

"Sometimes," Nino replied. "Mostly."

"So, we'll do that," Sho smiled softly and then he started to look around in the living room. "Ah wait... Where's your music player? Or your phone?"

"Left trouser pocket."

Sho quickly switched to holding both of Nino's slim wrists with only one hand and let his now free hand slip into Nino's trousers' pocket to pull out his cell phone. Nino told him the password and the music app was already there on the home screen. Sho tapped on it, selected a playlist called _Relax_ , activated the speaker and put the phone down on the coffee table. Soon, the room was filled with relaxing, slow music paired with sounds of nature. Nino closed his eyes for a moment and tried some breathing exercises, but the success was not satisfying.

"What else helps you?" Sho continued. He himself seemed to have calmed down by now, his voice low, slow and trying to soothe Nino's mind. "What about the itching, anything we can do against that?"

"Coolness helps a bit, usually," Nino explained. "Cold water or I also have some cooling packages in the fridge, I could put them on."

"OK," his boss nodded. "So come on, let's get them. No, don't even think about me letting go of your hands, if you scratch, you'll make everything worse."

With that, Sho made Nino accompany him into the kitchen, holding his hands and paying attention that the young man couldn't just pull free all of a sudden. When they reached the fridge, Sho opened it and followed Nino's directions on where to find the mentioned cooling pads. Soon after, they were back in the living room and Sho made Nino sit on his own palms, while he himself tried to place the cooling packages on and around Nino's neck the best as he could without making them slip away all the time. It wasn't an easy task, but he got it to work, somehow.

"OK, next step. You're still not calm enough," Sho noticed. Indeed, Nino was still fidgety. "And your breathing is still too quick, so let's do some more breathing exercises."

Nino just nodded.

"Good, so... I'm sorry, I don't really have any idea what I'm doing so... let's just breathe in and out slowly, will that do?" Sho asked.

Nino nodded again. Sho took Nino's hands once more and even if Nino knew that it was just to prevent him from doing anything dangerous, his heart melted a little. It's the first time that someone other than his mother, Aiba or his therapist tried to help him. And it was Sho. Nino felt ashamed that Sho had found out about his weakness, but at the same time, he felt happy and thankful that instead of looking at him with disgust – a reaction Nino had received more than once in the past by strangers – Sho was sincerely paying attention to him and trying to make him feel better.

"Good," the man said in his low voice before he slowly continued. "Close your eyes... Breathe in.... breathe out... relax. Breathe in.... breathe out.... relax. Breathe in... That's good, you're doing great, Nino. See, I think it already works."

When Nino breathed out again, he managed to reply with a simple "Yes".

It had already started to help. He could feel his body calming down, could feel the tension in his hands lessen, the shaking slowly but surely stopping.

The next moment, Sho suddenly let go off Nino's hands and hugged him instead, making him gasp for a moment, but then, Nino lifted his hands, wrapped them around his boyfriend's back and pressed himself even closer into their embrace. He could feel how this, Sho's closeness, the warmth of his body, his affection that he was Nino showering with, was helping him to relax even more.

"I'm sorry...," Nino murmured after a few seconds of silence against Sho's shoulder. He could feel how his held back tears now started rolling down his cheeks, relieving the last chunk of stress that weighed on him.

"About what?" the other man wondered. "Hey, no need to cry, it's fine, it's fine! I'm here."

"I'm disgusting," Nino whined, revealing the negative thoughts that were always at the back of his mind during such situations.

"What? No! You are not disgusting, what are you talking about?" Sho asked, shocked at the other man's statement. He pulled him closer and lifted one hand to gently brush over the back of Nino's head.

"And I'm weak," Nino whispered, still under tears. "I couldn't control it and now I'm even crying, how embarrassing."

"Don't say that," Sho said in his soothing voice, hugging Nino even tighter. "Let it out, it's fine. Can I get you anything?"

Nino shook his head, brushing his nose against Sho's neck in the process. After staying like this for a few minutes, until the secretary seemed to have calmed down again, they loosened their embrace. Sho gently caught one last tear that was hanging on Nino's eyelashes with his finger, before the other man wiped his eyes.

"Tell me more about it. If you can? So, I can be prepared next time and help you better and faster," Sho suggested.

Nino took a deep breath and considered his options. Probably, it would be best if he was honest. There was no use of hiding this anymore. He still couldn't get rid of the feeling of embarrassment over his experiences every time he suffers from an attack like this, but sometimes, he just couldn't help it. The only thing he could do was trying to reduce the stress factors in his life. Which, of course, didn't mean that he wanted to stop things with Sho, no, to the contrary. He wanted to be honest with him, and like Sho said, if he knew what was going on, he was prepared and maybe could even help Nino avoid such situations in the future.

"I suffer from what's called stress-induced urticarial," Nino started to explain. "It's some kind of psychosomatic condition. So, yeah... basically, the trigger is negative stress, and the result is urticaria... some kind of rash, accompanied with itching. As long as I don't scratch, I can cope with it, willing away the itching, mostly, but sometimes... and then it's like I can't stop."

"I'm surprised I never really noticed anything," Sho said. He sounded a bit guilty, something that Nino definitely did not want.

"I'm good at hiding it," the man quickly explained. "Or I used to say it's an allergic reaction, when it got noticeable, like some kind of white lie, you could say? You see, I still feel embarrassed about it when it happens. It's like... I'm being exposed..."

Sho looked at him and slowly nodded. But he had more questions, apparently. "Did you always have that?"

"It first started when my mother was sick, mostly when I was with her in the hospital and got scared of losing her," Nino continued his story. "Like this, it got detected quite early and therapy helped me to get it under control, well, mostly.... It's just that under unusually stressful conditions, it comes through. Like when my father died some years ago. Or..."

"Or when I got hit? Or did it start even earlier? Is it my fault?" Sho worried out loud, looking at his boyfriend with big rueful eyes.

Immediately, Nino shook his head. "It's not _your fault_ , there's no need to blame yourself for my inability to keep control over this. You taking the blame would be the same as me saying it's my fault that Matsumoto hit you. You see, it's connected, but it's just a trigger rather than someone's fault. If that makes sense. Or do you directly blame me for that?"

"No. It was my own fault," the other man replied without hesitation. "I couldn't control myself and hit him and then he hit back. The result was the consequence of my action."

"See?" Nino raised his eyebrows. "That's basically the same thing."

"Still, I'm sorry," Sho said, his hands starting to rub up and down Nino's arms. "For being responsible for all the stress you had to experience recently. For triggering you."

Nino chuckled, but then, his expression turned serious. Due to the whole panic, he had totally forgotten that actually, he was in the middle of lecturing Sho, just in case he really needed it.

"Real talk, you and Matsumoto... You have quite a temper, don't you?" the secretary crossed his arms in front of his chest. "You really should be more careful; don't you remember you have a reputation to protect? And what about the reputation of your father? You're the Sakurai Group's heir, you definitely should not beat up a business partner!"

"Of course not, but can I be honest with you?" Sho intervened. "I don't care that much about my reputation. I don't want to impress my father or impress society, I want to be my own person and as my own person, I also want to protect those people who are important to me. And I promised you that, didn't I?"

"Promised me?" Nino frowned. "Promised me what?"

And then, Sho said something that Nino had never dreamt of hearing anymore.

"When we were children, and those other kids bullied you, and Matsumoto was one of them, I promised to protect you."

"Wait, are you... Are you just telling me that you _remember_?" Nino asked, dumbfounded. "I mean... that we have been friends?" Sho just looked at him, nibbling his lower lip. "Sakurai-san?!"

"I...," the man shuffled a bit to and fro on the couch, seemingly nervous. "OK, listen, I should probably tell you something. But first, I want you to stop calling me _Sakurai-san_."

Nino gaped at his boss. No, his boyfriend. OK, he was both, but suddenly stopping to call him by his last name, when he just had gotten used to it over these past weeks? Even if now they had started dating, wasn't this too early? But wait, they were also old childhood friends, and even if Nino had assumed that Sho had forgotten about him, which he had said, after all, wouldn't it be just a tiny step back to that time?

"Please, it's just too awkward," Sho continued. "We're dating now after all, aren't we? At least I hope we're still dating when I finished talking."

"So how should I call you, then?" Nino asked, carefully.

"Just call me Sho. Like before when you yelled my name in the restaurant... did you even notice that?"

Apparently, Nino did not. At least, he couldn't remember, had he really called Sho by his first name? He blushed.

"That felt good," the other man's smile quickly turned into a smirk. He reached out to nudge Nino, who was still pretty serious about the whole situation. Sho smirked. "Or if you prefer, I'm totally fine with Sho-chan, too. You know, like how you called me back then."

Nino still couldn't grasp it. "I – but you said you don't remember me..."

"Of course, I do remember you," Sho murmured. He felt obviously bad about keeping it a secret, but that wasn't enough for Nino. Not after he had gone through so much pain because of this.

"Then why have you been lying to me this whole time?" he demanded to know, hopefully, though, he did not sound as desperate as he thought he did.

"I'm sorry, I know it was stupid," sighed Sho. "I didn't know what to do, everything was just too awkward, and I didn't know how to handle the situation. I was so excited about coming back but we haven't been in contact for so long and so I came up with that stupid idea to pretend I didn't remember you and start anew. I thought it would be easier for both of us, but honestly, how stupid is that, as if I could ever forget you... and we did poorly in the beginning and I know that's my fault. Anyway, I'm sick of all the pretending."

"Why haven't we been in contact, then, for the past years? We used to text each other after you first left the country until you suddenly stopped!" Nino threw into the round. "If you have never forgotten about me, then why? I though you've gotten sick of me or you found so many other friends that you couldn't bother texting me any longer."

Another sigh by Sho. "Actually, that's another stupid thing that happened… you see, I lost my phone back then and all my data with it… time passed and since we had not seen each other for such a long time, I was insecure about trying to get your contact again and faster than I thought, more time passed and I never tried to find out your number. I'm sorry."

Nino found himself pouting. Lost his phone... Was it really that simple? However, if Sho told the truth, this would mean...

"So you didn't just stop texting with me because you weren't interested in your childhood friend anymore?"

The other man shook his head, vehemently. "Definitely not!"

"Maybe you could have tried a bit harder to get my number again, then!" Nino replied, still pouting. "I thought I did something wrong like I annoyed you to death with my texts or something...”

"No, really, it's completely my fault, I know, I should have tried to get your number again, I'm sorry. For so many things," his boyfriend replied. "I'm sorry for not trying to get back to you sooner. I'm sorry that I couldn't be there for you when things with your dad happened. And I'm really sorry for lying to you when I came back and almost ruining things with being such a klutz. But I missed you, believe me, I missed you so much, every single day, and I'm so happy to have you back... Nino."

It was Nino now, who reached out his hands to take Sho's in his. He could feel the sincerity of the man's words, and he believed in them. He could be angry now, that Sho had been lying to him all this time, maybe he even felt a little bit betrayed, but on the other hand, he could understand. He understood how weird it must have felt for Sho to come back after so many years, finding so many things changed, and not being able to handle everything. His parents' expectations of him, in his job as well as with Keiko, surely, none of that had been easy.

And he and Nino? He must have felt estranged over the years, and that was understandable too. It had been weird for Nino as well. However, the most important thing was that despite the awkwardness, they eventually found each other again, and that alone was a miracle. Nino would be a fool to risk that now. He gently pressed Sho's hands, and Sho pressed back, smiling shyly.

"Sho...," the young man said, trying out saying his boyfriend's name like this. "So what's your plan from now on?"

Sho swallowed visibly and straightened his back a little. His and Nino's hands were still joined between them, and their bodies were facing each other. The man looked straight into Nino's eyes.

"I told you, I want to be myself, right?" he started. "I want to be with you. I want us to be friends again, and I want us to be lovers." He paused, looking at Nino as if waiting for confirmation.

Which Nino gladly gave him. He smiled and nodded. 

"I think, we're on a good way to be that, both of it," he said and Sho smiled back. "What else? That's not everything, right?"

Sho nodded and took a deep breath. "I want to be brave enough to tell my father. About us and about what I really want to do as a career."

"And I will support you in this," the secretary added. "Just... although you already once told me that you don't want to be your father's company heir... you didn't tell me yet what it is you want to be," Nino pointed out. "If you don't want to pretend anymore, then start with me. Tell me everything."

"I never told you because... when it comes to that part of my life, I'm not too confident to tell other people, but it's you so I want to tell you. Just, promise you won't laugh, OK?" Sho asked, slightly nervous.

Nino pressed his boyfriend's hands. "I promise, I won't laugh."

"Good...," Sho sighed. "You see, the truth is, I want to become a writer."

Nino blinked. He had to admit; he was a little surprised by this confession.

"A writer?"

"Yeah, like... you promised not to laugh, right? You said creative hobbies are cool, right?" Sho wanted to confirm, although he sounded still a bit insecure.

Nino nodded. "Yeah. And I mean it. And I won't laugh."

Sho took a deep breath.

"So... I never told anyone, but I really enjoy writing. In various forms, like short stories or poems or just _things_ , my _thoughts_ , anything!" the other man started. He sounded excited. Nino smiled at him as he continued. "You might not have expected it, you might think I should be happy and content with the future my parents provided me with, but the truth is, I just want to be free. As who I am now, I can't express myself freely when I'm discussing business plans for hotels all day long, and I feel completely uninspired when reading annual financial reports and shit like that."

At this point, Nino actually chuckled softly, but only because he understood exactly what Sho meant. Annual financial reports were the personifications of boredom, after all.

"For my whole life, other people chose for me what I should do," Sho said. "It wasn't my decision to go to Europe and leave you behind. It was my parents' and even if I know they meant well, it wasn't what I wanted. I'm kind of glad though because, even if I was unhappy there most of the time, being lonely also strengthened my interest in literature. It made me realise what I truly want to be."

"That's amazing," Nino whispered, touched by Sho's sincerity. "It really is. And as I said, I will fully support you. Well, before I promise that, you'll have to show me some of your writing though," he chuckled softly.

Sho nodded. "I'll think about what I can show you, soon."

"I can't wait," his boyfriend replied.

"So, how do you feel now, how's the itching?" Sho asked, carefully checking Nino's neck. From all the hugging and pulling apart resulted in the cooling packages had slipped around so he reached out to properly put them back, slightly pressing the coolness against Nino's still irritated skin.

"Better, thank you, but you know what else helps to make me feel better?" the secretary answered. He put his hand on top of Sho's, holding it in place, and they looked into each other’s eyes. "Distraction."

And as if Sho knew exactly what Nino meant, they closed the last distance between them again and their lips met for a small but tender kiss.

"Ouch," Sho murmured, chuckling when they came apart shortly after.

"What's wrong?" Nino asked, his gaze hazy. With one of his hands, he cupped Sho's face.

"Ah, just my lip, but it's fine. Saliva is supposed to help the healing process, right? So, let's keep going," Sho replied, already leaning forward again.

Nino snorted, pulling back a little and giving the man in front of him a critical look. "I thought this only applies if it's your own..."

"You little know-it-all," Sho chuckled, crawling closer. "As far as I'm concerned, I want to kiss you anyway, there'll be a lot of saliva involved, yours and mine so it'll be fine..."

Nino couldn't say anything against that and just allowed Sho to kiss him again instead. Sho was gentle but also demanding, and it was so exciting – the good kind of exciting – that Nino's heart was racing like crazy. They were leaning back on the couch, by now the slightly taller man was almost covering Nino, and the latter could feel how things became hotter.

The man willingly parted his lips to grant Sho's tongue access to his mouth, it felt hot and warm and so soft and he loved it so much, kissing Sho was definitely Nino's new addiction. They took their sweet time to explore each other, slowing down and speeding up the movements of their hungry lips as if playing together. They kissed each other's faces, Nino kissed Sho's neck, Sho kissed the tip of Nino's nose, just to tease him, and then they were back again, connecting their lips in a passionate kiss.

It didn't take long before Nino made Sho stop, putting his finger on Sho's lips to keep him from kissing him once more. When the other man opened his eyes and looked at his boyfriend, confused, ready to protest, Nino just smirked at him and sat up, reaching for one of Sho's hands and pulled him up with him from the couch, just to guide him into his bedroom. Sho grinned as soon as he understood the message, and complied, following his boyfriend.

Once the door was closed behind them, Nino immediately pulled Sho closer for an embrace. The cooling packages had long gotten lost, so Sho tried to be extra careful not to touch Nino's sensitive skin and the young man really appreciated his boyfriend's thoughtfulness. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his small bottle of aloe vera gel, showing it to Sho, who took it in his hands and looked at Nino, slightly confused.

"Could you maybe help me apply this?" Nino asked, blushing. "It helps my skin to relax and numbs the sensitivity so... we can keep going without needing to pay too much attention to this situation here," Nino pointed at his neck area sloppily.

Sho chuckled slightly and then leaned forward to place a small kiss on Nino's forehead, who looked up at him upon the sweet gesture.

"Sure," Sho said, putting the bottle down on top of Nino's bed and got closer again, to put his arms around his boyfriend's waist. "But first, we need to undress you so I have better access, you know..."

Nino laughed. He reached up, putting his hands around Sho's neck, and he leaned into another gentle kiss. Sho started fumbling with the rest of the buttons on Nino's shirt, undoing one by one, getting slightly impatient, until he was finally done. He gently guided Nino backwards to the bed, making him sit down. As Nino leaned back willingly, Sho pushed the shirt from his boyfriend's shoulders.

Sho was just about to reach for the bottle of aloe vera gel when his gaze fell upon Nino's bedside table. He frowned and paused his action.

"Hey, is everything OK?" Nino asked silently, his voice a little shaky. 

Not only the excitement of the situation had gotten to him, but seeing Sho suddenly distracted, made him doubt, immediately. What, if Sho copped out now?

Sho abandoned the aloe vera gel again and reached out his hand for the black journal that had been placed on Nino's bedside table. He carefully took it in both hands, turned it, and looked at Nino, his eyes widened. Nino looked back at him, utterly confused.

"Sorry but... why do you have that?" Sho asked in a low voice.

"What? I found it," Nino replied.

"Where... where did you find that?" Sho demanded to know. "This is my journal, I was searching for it!"

A shiver ran down Nino's spine when he realised the meaning of Sho's words, and he sat up again so he could face him properly. "It's really yours?"

Sho flipped open the journal, letting his hands touch the paper and slowly skimmed through it. He still looked confused, but also as if he found back a long-lost treasure.

"I thought I lost it weeks ago, I couldn't find it anywhere, why–?"

"I swear, I didn't take it from your house or anything if that's what you mean," Nino immediately set straight, lifting his hands. He just remembered how particular Sho had been about someone touching his stuff, and he didn't want any misunderstanding to occur between them. "I found it in the park near the office building, shortly before we met again. I couldn't find the owner so I brought it back with me and since then –"

"So that's where I left it...," Sho murmured before he started chuckling. "I remember, I was just exploring the area a little bit when I came back, I thought, before starting to work there, I might just take a look at the place and the park was really nice..."

"It really is," Nino replied. "I used to spend most of my lunch breaks there. That's when I found it, at the foot of my usual bench. I didn't know whom it belonged to and it looked like it was going to rain so I didn't want to leave it behind and be ruined."

"Thank you," Sho replied with a broad smile on his face. "It would have been a pity if all the work I put into it had gone to waste." Then, his smile suddenly vanished, and a hint of panic spread over his face. "Have you... have you read it?"

Nino slowly nodded, only now realising what the whole situation really meant. All along, _Sho_ had been the one who wrote all those beautiful words collected in there...

"I'm... sorry?" Nino offered, smiling carefully.

"Oh gosh... well, _now_ I'm embarrassed," Sho chuckled. "I can't actually say that this is supposed to be seen by anyone yet."

"I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't have," Nino said. "I didn't mean to, at first. I just wanted to see if I can find a name or a clue as to who's the owner is to return it, but then I started reading what's in there and I... I just couldn't stop. It's so good, Sho, seriously, it's _so good_ , I love every single word you've written in there!"

Sho's face flushed deep red. He sheepishly pressed the journal against his chest and Nino's heart jumped at that adorable sight.

He had met a lot of different versions of Sho throughout his life.

He had met kind, sweet _Sho-chan_ , the one who used to play with him, read books with him, and who promised to protect him against his bullies. 

He had met a slightly jerky Sho, grown-up and a show-off, bragging with his fake-girlfriend and his red Ferrari that he had named after a European woman (although as of what Nino had learned by now, he wondered if it really was the name of an ex-girlfriend or just a random name). 

He had met his boss, _Sakurai-san_ , slightly overwhelmed by his new duties and clumsy in treating his personnel, but smart enough to catch up on all the important things he should know.

He had met Sho, the desperate drinker who tried to drown his sorrows in alcohol but actually was getting eaten up from inside by his loneliness. 

A Sho who was as fascinating as anyone could be when confessing his deepest feelings. Gentle, when he embraced someone, passionate when he kissed someone. 

A very jealous Sho, who wasn't willing to share Nino with anyone, especially not with a certain Matsumoto Jun, and who would punch anyone in the face who dared to raise his voice at his boyfriend.

He had met a man who was caring when seeing how his boyfriend suffered, and now, sweet and fragile and admirable, _Sho_ , the artist's soul.

Nino's chest was overflowing with love for each and every version of Sho. _His_ Sho. He couldn't deny it. He had been in love with that man ever since they had met during their childhood and he probably had never stopped loving him, even when they were separated, even when they weren't on good terms, and now, his love was still growing constantly. He was completely sold on this man.

"Can I have it back?" Sho asked, finally, pointing at the journal in his hands.

"Ah, sure, it's yours, after all," Nino replied, but then, he remembered something. "Ah, wait, just a moment!"

He wanted to reach for the journal, which Sho was still clenching and probably didn't want to let go anymore. So, he pulled back his hands and just slightly tilted his head.

"Uhm... there are a few notes in there," Nino started, blushing slightly.

"Ah, right," Sho said, flipping through the pages again. "I thought those are bookmarks... wait... what are those notes?"

Nino cleared his throat. "I just took a few notes about some passages..."

"About _some passages_?" Sho chuckled, once he realised the whole extent of Nino's doing, which consisted of _a lot_ of notes. "Did you review the whole thing?!"

Slightly embarrassed, Nino shrugged. "Well, kind of?"

"I want to read all of them!" Sho exclaimed, laughing sweetly. He then started reading out loud a random note that he picked from the middle of the journal, obviously happy, but also a little bit embarrassed, too. " _You made me fall in love with your writing_. Wow, now that's quite a big compliment..."

"I guess I can't deny it," Nino said, covering his face with his hands. "It's not only the boy inside you that I love or the you you are now, but I also love you, the writer."

Sho stared at Nino and his sudden confession. He reached out one hand, and Nino did the same. When their hands connected, Sho smiled, sincerely happy.

"I love you too, Nino."

Nino blushed again, his heart bubbling over in his chest upon hearing those words. He had dreamed of this day, even if he had never expected it to come true, but now, here they were.

"A-Anyway," the young man cleared his throat, "I'm sorry for reading this without permission."

"It's OK," Sho gently pressed Nino's hand. "I think, if there's anyone in the world who I want to read it, it's you. I want you to know everything about me, my deepest thoughts, I want you to know who I am... and I think, it's easier for me to express myself through writing."

"You're great with words," Nino said, and he meant it.

"Perhaps only with written words," Sho chuckled. "I'm also good in non-verbal communication, though," he then added, wiggling his eyebrows, causing Nino to laugh shortly. He put the journal back on top of Nino's bedside table and then came crawling closer again.

"I need you to prove that," the young secretary chuckled, amused.

"Well, then, let's continue to make you _relax_ ," Sho said.

Smirking, he reached for the bottle of aloe vera gel first, to finally help apply it onto Nino's skin, his boyfriend knew exactly, that _this_ would not be the only body contact they'd be sharing tonight.

Nino smirked too, and pulled Sho on top of him, to kiss him again on his beautiful lips.

\+ + +

The two men spent a lazy morning in bed on the next day, cuddling, kissing, and talking about the sun and the moon. They exchanged stupid and not so stupid ideas about their future, how they wanted to tackle life together from now on. Nothing was written yet on the blank page they created, only the fact that they wanted to challenge the future together. They wanted to support each other and be each other's anchor, each other's confidant, best friend and lover.

After Nino had taken a long shower, the two men went into the kitchen and prepared breakfast – French toast after Sho's request, which apparently had been his favourite breakfast in Europe – and when they sat down together to eat, Sho pushed his journal towards Nino. It was opened on a new page, with new words written in it.

"Inspiration hit me while you were in the bathroom," Sho said, blushing slightly. "From now on, I want you to be the first one to read my works, and I'm prepared to receive any feedback that you seem fit."

Nino didn't care if his breakfast would turn cold in the meantime and immediately grabbed the journal to read Sho's new addition to it.

_Everyday, sleeping face down alone, always feeling like nothing matters at all.  
Acting strong and pushing myself too hard, it's not as if I want to be this way.  
Everyone happens to have common sense on hand. Why are you all running so splendidly?  
If I can just catch up, I want to catch up and give a clever laugh._

_If we try to recall the clear sky from then, our smiling faces are blurred in our memory._

_That's why we gulp down the bitter, frustrating, ordinary days.  
There's no choice but to make certain of it with our own eyes.  
Nothing stays the same so there's no reason to give up.  
Everything starts from here, right?_

_Hold justice up high above your head before you lose sight of it, the truth is definitely there._

_That's why even if you long for a life like you see in the movies,  
The things that are truly important are right here.  
Nothing has finished yet, not even your conceited dreams.  
Until the dawn breaks, until then._

_See, don't you think so too? Now's the time, get up now!_

"It's wonderful," Nino said, smiling, "Melancholic, but still, full of hope."

Sho smiled back.

THE END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lyric translation credits for „Dandelion“ (one of my favourite B-sides!) go to yarukizero, thanks for your hard work and sharing it with the fandom!
> 
> Next Chapter is the Epilogue! Thanks for reading up until here! <3


	9. Epilogue

In the end, the situation with the Matsumoto Group was solved by a simple but genuine apology from all parties involved. While Sho apologized once more, this time more sincere, first for spying on Jun and especially for hitting Jun, Jun apologized too, again, for hitting back and everything had been filed as a misunderstanding with the passionate outcome. 

Nino also apologized once more for rejecting Jun as well as for letting the whole situation escalate. He should have been clearer about his feelings and intentions in the first place, the invitation to a fancy burger restaurant or not. Jun had also clarified his motives in the meantime, namely, that he indeed had developed a crush on Nino but had started to accept the situation and over the next few months was able to overcome his feelings for Nino. Currently, the young company heir was searching for a new love.

Speaking about burgers, by the way, Nino never went back to that fancy place, and instead, he much preferred trying out new, cheaper restaurants together with his boyfriend, occasionally bringing along friends. Sho even started to make a fun game out of testing all of the city's burgers and making a giant analytical burger chart in order to find the perfect burger for his boyfriend. In order not to be a downer, Nino couldn't bring it on himself to tell Sho that he did not care too much about those details and actually, the most important thing for him was that the two of them were together when eating a delicious burger.

Alternatively to the various burger restaurants, the couple also liked to spend their evenings off in the "Akatsuki", either sitting at the bar and talking with Mr Ohno, or sharing a table with Aiba, who they sometimes brought along, or even Jun, who they had met there once too, inviting him to their table for a drink. Sometimes, Mr Ohno even joined them for a glass or two, when the izakaya wasn't too busy. Of course, Sho had not gone back to drinking uncontrollably, and with this, he managed to get his alcohol consumption back to a non-worrisome level, which was better for everyone involved.

The five men got along with each other surprisingly well, so much that they eventually made their outings together a regular thing, and after about a year, Jun and Sho were finally able to call each other close friends and even now, after another year, their friendship was still going strong.

The business relationship between the Matsumoto Group and the Sakurai Group was still continuing, something that had started on a wonky leg after the escalation between the two young heirs, but, of course, they had managed to get together in a professional way, after making up. They decided to restart their project for the "Hana Yashiki" hotel chain, this time with a much better foundation – understanding each other, no jealousy, a developing friendship and true professionalism. By now, the project was in full bloom. Just recently, the plans for a first branch had been finished by a young and passionate team of architects, and it received Sho and Jun's approval almost immediately.

Sho had made it clear with his father and his mother about a lot of things in the meantime. It had taken a little time and he had been doing it step by step with Nino's support, standing behind him, not only as his secretary but also as his life partner.

The first thing, Sho had become clear about was his fake relationship with Keiko, who he had had a serious talk with and who had agreed that their farce had been ridiculous, to begin with, and they should just stop it. Sho admitted that they had never been a real thing, that he was not planning on marrying any woman, and that he was rather very much in love with Nino.

Even when his father had been surprised at first, he accepted it, knowing that his son was in the best hands possible, no matter if in business or private situations. After all, Sho's father trusted Nino. When it came to Sho's mother, the woman threw a wink at the young secretary as a reaction to his and her son's confession of being a couple. Nino immediately had the suspicion, that she perhaps was not that much surprised about it. Anyway, all in all, Sho's parents had been way more accepting and supportive, than Sho had ever expected.

Sho was getting along really well with Nino's mother and it had not taken more than their first meeting to make the woman accept the young man as _her son's future husband_ as she liked to call him. Nino was slightly embarrassed about her directness, but Sho just laughed, wholeheartedly, and let her do as she pleased. 

After that, Nino's and Sho's mothers got in contact more often too and went so far that Nino's mother joined Mrs Sakurai's book club and Mrs Sakurai even joined Nino's mother's patchwork club, which had become a huge success, by the way.

It took Sho a little longer to break the news to his father that he did not want to become the president of their family business, and this was also what took his father a little longer to accept, but in the end, they even came to a solution regarding this.

With Sho agreeing on staying in charge for the "Hana Yashiki" project, as the representative of a younger generation, as well as a shareholder of the business, he was allowed to step down from his high position and rather became something like a freelancer working together with his father. Like this, he stayed involved, but he wasn't the main responsible person and did not have to carry the burden of becoming his father's successor on his shoulders. He promised to help his father search for someone to take over that position within the realms of his best employees, instead.

Sho did not have to spend as much time in the office now with mundane uninspiring tasks anymore, and instead, he could focus on working on his writing. He was even aspiring to write his first full-length novel, based on Nino's favourite short story out of Sho's journal, and was currently working hard to finish his first draft. 

Of course, Nino was reading every chapter once Sho finished it, providing him with praise and criticism alike, in order to help him make the best possible version out of it and Sho really appreciated his boyfriend's support. Not only Nino was extremely proud of him, Sho's parents were also proud of their son.

For Nino, things had changed too. He was still in charge of Sho to help him with the hotel chain project at work but he had not gone back to pick up more tasks, like working more for Sho's father again or anything like that. He reached an agreement with Mr Sakurai Senior, who kindly allowed him to keep the good conditions for the pay back of his father's debts and keeping his mother's place in her home, as long as he continued working for the Sakurai Group on the side. Nino's main focus though, especially to his best friend Aiba's delight, was going back to university to finish his degree in game designing.

Nino wasn't completely sure yet if he would pick up a job in the gaming business after he finished his degree, or if he would go back to working more hours for the Sakurai Group, as he found he quite liked his job there, after all. Either way, he was happy that he could finally do what he really wanted, and he enjoyed his new-found, partial freedom. Sometimes, you couldn't just have one thing or the other, you needed to make compromises, and Nino was willing to do that.

By now, Sho had moved out of the house his parents had provided him, and instead moved into Nino's place so that they could spend as much time together as possible. With him offering to pay a large percentage of the rent, which still seemed to be peanuts for him, it also helped Nino to save money for paying back his family debts. He was really grateful for that. 

Of course, his place was even smaller with two people, but somehow, they managed not to annoy each other too much. When Sho was working on his novel from home and needed some quiet time, Nino was either studying, visiting his mother, or meeting Aiba for some gaming sessions at Aiba's place.

Things were busy but going well and the most important thing was that everyone was happy. Nino couldn't believe his luck. He had recovered the friendship and love from his childhood, they had developed into a real thing rather than a possibility, and he couldn't ask for more. He loved waking up in the mornings in Sho's embrace, having breakfast together, kissing him whenever he wanted, or just hanging out on the couch together, watching a movie or reading. He couldn't be any happier. Or so, he thought.

It was Nino's birthday, once again, when he was surprised by Sho with something he had never expected. It was a lazy morning, as they had decided to sleep in and keep the activity level for the day low. Sho was still in the bathroom when Nino planned to make a pot of coffee for them.

The surprise wasn't only the huge bunch of beautiful flowers that were placed on the breakfast table – Nino had no idea when Sho had gotten that one delivered, he must have slept through everything after an exhausting but wonderful night with his boyfriend – but rather what was placed next to it. Sho's old, black journal.

Nino wondered. It had been a while since he had had it in hands, as by now, it was almost completely filled up and Sho had long started using a new one to fill it with his literary ideas. However, there it was, and the strangest thing was that there was a post-it on it, telling Nino to _read me_.

The young man frowned, picked it up and settled on his chair while flipping through the pages. He smiled while revisiting lots of things he had loved ever since he read them for the first time, poems, short stories, collections of Sho's thoughts... and then, he finally reached the last page. He hadn't realised that it had been blank, up to today, and that only now, it had been filled with something.

_I want us to walk under the same umbrella, from now and forever.  
Nino, will you marry me?_

Nino stared at it for minutes, his eyes wet, and not realising how much time had passed. Then, he jumped up like crazy and went to search for the closest pen or pencil or whatever writing device that he could find lying around. Once he found a pen, he grabbed it, uncapped it, and sat back down at the table. His hand was slightly shaking from excitement, so his writing was perhaps a little scrawly, but he didn't care. He just wanted to write down one single word.

After he finished, Nino closed the notebook and pressed it against his chest. He took a deep breath, only now realising that his breathing was shaking, too. He was so excited. Luckily, this was what he called _positive stress_ , and so he knew that no matter how much he was shaking, no matter how fast his heart was beating and how short of breath he was, no matter how teary his eyes were, he didn't panic. This would not cause any stress reaction for him. This was just sheer, simple happiness flooding his system.

When Sho came back from the bathroom, showered and his hair wet, Nino was still sitting there, pressing the notebook against him. He was facing his back towards Sho though, so the other man couldn't see it. Anyway, Sho didn't seem to be brave enough to step closer and so he just stood there in the doorway, quiet, until he finally found the courage to speak.

"Uhm... did you... see my notebook?" Sho asked, shyly and pretending to be innocent, and Nino couldn't help but smirk at his boyfriend's nervous behaviour.

Nino jumped up from his chair, whirled around and reached out with both of his hands towards Sho, still clenching the journal. He felt his face flushed red and there were tears streaming down his cheeks, and Sho almost panicked, but Nino just pushed the journal further into Sho's direction, motioning him to open it.

So Sho did, flipping to the last page immediately, and just a second later, his own eyes became teary.

He dropped the opened journal to the floor and rushed forward to scoop Nino up into a tight hug. The two men just embraced each other, crying together, laughing together, and just being happy.

"I love you, Nino, I love you!" Sho almost yelled, as if he wanted the whole world to know.

"I love you too," Nino replied, in a whisper instead, before he leaned in to kiss Sho with all his love.

The open page on the floor read one scrawly word as Nino's reply.

_Yes._

\+ + + THE END + + +

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it! Thanks for reading, everyone!
> 
> Tbh, this fic was a real challenge. I attempted to include as many prompts as possible, but I think I overdid it a little bit. This resulted in a certain story element not perfectly fitting in but being integrated too strongly to cut it out afterwards (so I kept it in even after editing). Also, I feel like the character development is not as well depicted here compared to some of my other works. I wanted to try to fix that by writing a few additional scenes but in the end, decided against it and kept it as it was. Working on this fic brings back painful memories for me (around the time when I was at the editing stage for the exchange last year, my cat suddenly died and I was such a mess I couldn't focus on this story at all anymore and working on it now also didn't sit well with me so I hope you forgive me for not polishing it up more. 
> 
> Personally, I think, this is not my strongest work, however, there are also parts that I enjoyed writing (and the epilogue was worth the struggle for me haha) and so I hope you also found something in this story that you enjoyed! :) 
> 
> Next time, I'll crosspost my Ninoexchangefic from this year. Spoiler for those, who didn't read it yet - it's an Aimiya fic (for a change)! See you soon!
> 
> <3 Sky


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